Got a tip for us? Share it...
• • RSS

Hidden Buttons in iOS 6.1 Lend Weight to Apple Radio Service Rumors

Tuesday February 5, 2013 7:04 am PST by Ben Lovejoy
9to5Mac reports finding files for radio buttons in the iPad Music app in iOS 6.1 that could lend weight to last year's rumors that Apple plans to launch a Pandora-style service, providing streaming access to music which could then be purchased if desired.

ipad-radio
The files, first found by iAust1n, include a series of eight "radio" buttons, several of which have the word 'buy' in the filenames, suggesting plans to allow the purchase of music tracks from within the app. Interestingly, the piece notes that the files are found only on the iPad, not the iPhone.
The files are called some variation of “radio button” with an icon that looks similar to the radio icon that used to be in iTunes for Mac (it was traded for a more prominent top location in iTunes 11 without the antena tower). The iPad music app currently doesn’t have any radio functionality so our first thought was that Apple would be adding an iTunes-like ‘traditional’ streaming radio to the iPad.

More interestingly, the name of these button files and are labelled with ‘buy’ in the filename which could imply exciting new functionality.
Bloomberg had suggested a Q1 2013 launch date for the service, although follow-up reports had indicated that negotiations with record labels were moving slowly. With files perhaps related to such a service now apparently in place in iOS 6.1, Apple may be laying the groundwork for a launch once it is able to strike content deals.
[ 100 comments ]

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
InuNacho
19 weeks ago
Instead of some internet radio they could just stick a normal radio in them like every other smartphone in the world.
Rating: 20 Positives
Avatar
lostngone
19 weeks ago

Eiffel Tower?


Yes, only French radio stations will be available via this service. :D
Rating: 8 Positives
Avatar
bwolfcale
19 weeks ago
Eiffel Tower?
Rating: 8 Positives
Avatar
testcard
19 weeks ago

Radio tower?


Ostrich foot?
Rating: 7 Positives
Avatar
decimortis
19 weeks ago

Eiffel Tower?


That's clearly a giraffe.

D.
Rating: 6 Positives
Avatar
macintel4me
19 weeks ago
That's an ugly icon, IMO. Not very Apple-like.
Rating: 5 Positives
Avatar
Jetson
19 weeks ago

Do you have evidence to suggest "chances are"? You may be right, but modern cellular networks are more sophisticated and multi-layered (LTE, 3G, 2G) than FM/AM radio. You're not wrong, it would be nice to have both, but I don't think anyone is betting that we'll get absolutely no service.

"Survival Radio: What Will Work


In any type of disaster (Hurricane, Earthquake, Economic Collapse, Nuclear War, EMP Blast/Solar Event, etc) your typical means of communications (Mobile Phones, Land Lines, Internet) will most likely be severed or severely impaired.

I know from reading about past disasters and being in the middle of 9/11 myself that when disaster strikes, using your mobile phone (which we are all so heavily dependent on) can be a frustrating experience to say the least. If you have ever tried to dial out and received the message “All Circuits Are Busy” then you know what I am talking about.

Aside from smoke signals, there are modern options to consider... The three most readily available are GMRS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMRS) or FRS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service) radios, CB radios (http://www.blogger.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB_radio), and Ham radio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_radio)."

My point is that the iPad/iPod/iPhone are already all in one devices. But not having an AM/FM/Shortwave receiver is a dreadful shortcoming. In an emergency the device would become a doorstop when it could be a lifeline. It was a purposeful decision by Apple to leave out REAL radio - not internet "radio", which should be changed.
Rating: 5 Positives
Avatar
drlunanerd
19 weeks ago
Hope they're also going to redesign the iPad Music app as it's awful :(
Rating: 3 Positives
Avatar
RoboCop001
19 weeks ago

Instead of some internet radio they could just stick a normal radio in them like every other smartphone in the world.


But with Internet radio you get way more selection. Personally I only like one station where I live, so I pretty much always use Internet radios like TuneIn. Much better. The battery drain from data usage is worth it lol
Rating: 2 Positives
Avatar
ovrlrd
19 weeks ago

And it's sad there is no REAL Radio built into the iDevices, there is most likely one in there but just not activated by Apple.

(The new (stealth) AppleTv Broadcom chip has Radio on it)


Just to be clear, are you talking about FM radio? Because every iDevice out there has radios in them, otherwise you wouldn't get WiFi or cellular.

Anyway, even with "hidden" FM radios there isn't much reason for them to enable them without antennas to make them work. You can't have a radio work without an antenna, so the additional cost of that (not to mention the space it takes up) basically means it isn't really worth it. It always amazes me how people forget about this. I guess people are used to ignoring how things work because it's all hidden to the user.

Internet radio (Spotify, Rdio, Pandora) is the future anyway, it is where the real money is going, and Apple is not stupid to ignore that.
Rating: 2 Positives

[ Read All Comments ]