Apple Working to Launch New iPhone App for Radio Fans (Rumor)

A report says that people close to Apple have gained knowledge of a new, in-house-developed iPhone app. Apple is believed to be finally taking advantage of the Broadcom combination Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chips used in the iPhone and iPod touch, which have long had the technical capacity of FM radio reception.

Apple-focused site 9to5mac claims to have received a tip “that an iPhone radio.app is being developed in-house by Apple for use on the iPhone and iPod touch [...] The app will be allowed to operate in the background like iPod.app and will offer the same functionality as the FM radio in the new iPod Nanos.” The same person allegedly “mentioned that this application could also be incorporated into the iPod.app before release.” The Radio app is also believed to offer the same Live Pause functionality found in fourth-gen iPod nanos.

Additional details, such as why there’s a holdup with this alleged app, seem to add more credibility to the rumor. Reportedly, the source has added that, “The holdup on this app is that Apple is trying to integrate the Mobile iTunes Store purchases into the functionality of the program.” The functionality would allow a person listening to the radio to tag a song and go to iTunes to buy it, get more information on the album it’s featured in, the artist, etc. The functionality would be available only in the US, and only with radio stations that support tagging.

Lastly, the site points out to Apple’s iPods and iPhones having long been able to receive FM radio signals as indication that a radio app is not at all far fetched. In fact, the latest generation of iPhone and iPod touch can even broadcast FM signal to a car stereo, 9to5mac adds, suggesting that the Mac maker has every reason to take advantage of these capabilities. The Nike+ function is the only one currently leveraging the devices’ ability to receive FM signals.