It’s also a music recommender system with on-demand functionality that allows listeners to replay songs and add them to their digital playlists.

It aggregates 850 local AM and FM radio stations across the United States, including ESPN Radio and Fox Sports. IHeartRadio is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform. Best Live Radio Apps for AM/FM Radio With or Without WiFi Data Even if it means that some users of its products must look for alternative solutions on how to listen to AM/FM radio with and without WiFi or mobile data. In other words, Apple sees the Internet as the future and isn’t keen on going back to analog radio. Without any AM/FM radio, iPhone owners are more likely to purchase music on iTunes than they would otherwise.įinally, the original iPhone single-handedly sparked the mobile Internet renaissance without which we wouldn’t be able to stream high-definition videos over LTE and chat with friends and family even when in remote areas. Next, Apple owns and operates one of the largest online digital media stores with music in the world-the iTunes Store. It simply has no place in Apple’s ecosystem. The traditional radio has a low bitrate and is plagued with hisses, static, and various other imperfections.

To start with, Apple has always strived to create a flawless user experience for the owners of its products. While Apple hasn’t provided any official explanation of why it doesn’t include AM/FM radio in its smartphones, we can identify at least three distinct reasons. Apple quickly responded and explained that “iPhones don’t have any radio and haven’t for over a year now.” But that doesn’t mean that iPhones can’t do what any cheap transistor radio could do more than half a century ago. Last year, after hurricanes Maria, Harvey, and Irma hit Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida respectively, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai asked Apple to activate the iPhone’s hidden FM radio.

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