NAB Study Finds Apple iPhone FM Chips Do Exist

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, October 2, 2017

Following FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai's statement last week calling for the activation of FM chips in Apple's iPhones, the company issued a statement claiming the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do contain FM radio chips, or the antennas designed to support FM signals. However, NAB-commissioned quarterly 'tear down' reports from ABI Research finds that every Apple iPhone built since 2012 has a chipset that includes support for FM radio, including the iPhone 7. Apple also continues to sell an iPhone 6S with a FM chip that is not activated. NAB says there are nearly 100 million iPhones in the marketplace with a deactivated FM chip.

NAB Executive VP/Communications Dennis Wharton said in a statement, "Like FCC Chairman Pai, we encourage Apple to activate this feature on their future handsets so Americans can have access to lifesaving information during emergency situations, something that many local radio stations provide. We welcome the opportunity to work with Apple to make that happen."

Pai has been a vocal supporter of FM chip activation, and several phone manufacturers have voluntarily announced they would take that route. In August, LG Electronics MobileComm agreed to enable FM chips in LG phones.