FCC chief Ajit Pai wants Apple to stop disabling FM radio chips in iPhones

Various smartphones with an active FM chip use the cord from a pair of wired headphones as an antenna, however, so the omission of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 may contribute to those devices' lack of FM tuner support.

The FCC chief framed the activation of the FM radio chip as a boon to public safety, since FM radio signals are generally easier to receive in times of emergency when compared to Internet-based services provided over a cellular network.

Many smartphone manufacturers and mobile carriers have disabled that function. Part of that, critics say, is because having a free alternative may discourage customers from using and thus paying for services that demand mobile data.