"Apps" -- that means streaming data. The point of the article is that FM would work when cellular signals won't. The entire internet is available except when it's not. This article is about receiving FM signals.
Ok, functioning in a disaster is one point the article made. But the premise that Apple is excluding it because of their own streaming services is patently false.
It's a point of logic. Radio stations are freely available on the iPhone via numerous third party apps, ergo blocking access to radio is not a motivation for disabling the FM chip feature. They would need to block those apps to accomplish that.
At best you could argue they are favoring Beats One by not letting you choose other Internet radio stations in their bundled music app, but that's not about disabling hardware.
