Apple would prefer that people die, than lose streaming revenue
One of the things you notice when you travel internationally is that in most places, people can use their smartphones to listen to FM radio.
Why?
Because there is an FM radio receiver built into the chips that smartphones - including Apple IPhones - use.
Apple deliberately disables the FM radio receiver in the US market, because listening to the radio for free does not earn them money.
The FCC can actually require Apple to turn on the FM radio, but the FCC has historically decided not to do so.
What this means, on an island in which communication networks have been disabled by a hurricane, is that their phones are useless, and there is a perfectly fine radio which they already have, and which Apple has decided not to allow them to use:
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/28/fcc_chair_on_iphone_fm_chips/?mt=1506631910751
FCC boss Ajit Pai has publicly criticized Apple for not turning on the FM radio receivers in every iPhone – calling it a public safety issue.
"In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States," the US comms watchdog chairman said today. "And I've specifically pointed out the public safety benefits of doing so."
...
"When wireless networks go down during a natural disaster, smartphones with activated FM chips can allow Americans to get vital access to life-saving information," Pai noted. "I applaud those companies that have done the right thing by activating the FM chips in their phones."
He then specifically identifies Apple for criticism: "
Apple is the one major phone manufacturer that has resisted doing so. But I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria."
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