Counterclockwise: FM radio is past its peak

16 December 2018
Do you feel like fewer and fewer phones have a radio receiver? Our data shows while there's a definite decline, many models still have it.

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Love FM Radio but even BlackBerry dropped it on many of its BB 0S, BB10 and Android devices.. My Alcatel Idol 4S Windows 10 Phone excluded it too.
I really dig FM specially on Christmas Time. I play that bad boy non stop!
LG usually keeps the FM Radio

    • G
    • Gandalfdenvite
    • RqR
    • 16 Dec 2018

    Phone manufacturers talk to network providers, network providers want users to pay for mobile data and that is the reason why phone manufacturers removed FM-radio!
    Apple is no longer about user friendliness, today it is all about maximizing profit, fool customers to pay more for less!

      Most of my songs I download is from hearing it on FM radio and using Shazam or SoundHound to recognize it. I rarely listen Pandora and don't use Spotify. Stopped using TuneInRadio many years ago.

      I rarely watch music videos on YouTube. I use YouTube mostly for commenting on the NBA, tech reviews, trailers, and trailer reactions. I do download the audio of the song from YouTube since mp3 sites are pretty much dead.

      So FM radio still has practical use for me. It helps generate more songs to download. I say about 95% of songs I downloaded recently was a song I heard on FM radio. Long live, AM/FM radio!

        I think the best phone I ever had for FM radio was the MyPhone QTV38. It was from the Philippines and had analog TV. Speaker was the loudest I ever had and I didn't need to plug headphones to play FM radio.

        My Xiaomi Mi 3 that I got from 4.5 years ago is probably the best with FM radio among phones I still have now. I'm listening to it right now. It was capable of playing a radio station in the Philippines without the need for headphones.

        I don't mind FM radio. It's not a mandatory feature like it was for me 10+ years ago. I remember using my PSP and iPod video for music. I hated that neither had FM radio once I grew tired of my songs.

        By the time I got a Nokia N82 as my first smartphone in January 2008, I kept using FM radio for weeks. About 99% of my FM radio listening is in my car since I work as a driver.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • Lx7
          • 16 Dec 2018

          Why did they never come up with a way to not need headphones as an antenna?

            I want TV. a basic phone from China (blueberry, ti-phone, Mito and Nexian). The brand is in Indonesia. used to exist but now it's not, I used to have it was amazing.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • IsY
              • 16 Dec 2018

              (Kind of Off-Topic)... Shortwave radio was the best. AM news stations you can hear from all over the world with a simple receiver. It peaked in the cold war so you could hear communist countries as well. Pretty fascinating.

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                • AnonD-797904
                • vxs
                • 16 Dec 2018

                Phones should have FM radio because it's a free service that broadcasts news and music.

                  • n
                  • neutro-n
                  • nek
                  • 16 Dec 2018

                  FM Radio is a dealbreaker for me since 2005 when SonyEricsson introduced RDS (I wanted to know what I'm listening when I travel).
                  Then I've been using Nokia N8 for it's DAB receiver (over additional headphones).
                  Now I use the LG Stylus 2 for DAB+, and I wouldn't miss this feature for anything in the world: you can listen local, it's battery friendly and I can listen to radio even if the phone is in flight mode. Other reasons like not consuming data plans or avoiding increased radiation are debatable.
                  A major plus for the DAB+ is the audio quality. After listening to it for 3 years, when I had to go to areas where only FM was available, my ears felt a huge drop of audition quality.

                  But it's obvious the industry has totally different goals rather than satisfying the client's need (I admit, there aren't too many clients with this need).

                    • l
                    • lolsomany
                    • fIS
                    • 16 Dec 2018

                    Alien , 16 Dec 2018And play it on what? Invisible radios? I don't have anolog ... moreu are man of digital indeed, when ww3 happen, i gonna tear for you a river

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • tDR
                      • 16 Dec 2018

                      Fayth, 16 Dec 2018bluetooth is ancient? I thought with headphone jack removal... moreSsh! This kind of person is not used to accepting facts

                        • D
                        • AnonD-762416
                        • JbS
                        • 16 Dec 2018

                        Technically, the USB port works just as fine as an antenna as a 3.5 mm jack. It's only using the shielding to collect the waves.

                        That said, the manufacturer's cartel scam by making people buy glitchy and useless Lightning/USB headphones will hopefully be punished in a consumer court one day. This is oil cartel levels of greed. Make people pay MUCH more for something that works much worse.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • IW@
                          • 16 Dec 2018

                          Alien , 16 Dec 2018And play it on what? Invisible radios? I don't have anolog ... moreFM radio, IR blaster and Bluetooth tech ancient? They are as alive now as they were in the past! And they will be here even in the forseeable future! What little knowledge you have!

                          Freddie Mercury knew it all too well:

                          "You had your time, you had the power
                          You've yet to have your finest hour
                          Radio, Radio."
                          ...
                          "Let's hope you never leave old friend
                          Like all good things on you we depend
                          So stick around 'cause we might miss you
                          When we grow tired of all this visual."

                          "You had your time, you had the power
                          You've yet to have your finest hour
                          Radio, Radio."
                          ...
                          "Radio, what's new?
                          Radio, someone still loves you!"

                          https://youtu.be/azdwsXLmrHE

                          :)

                            • N
                            • Nikola Tesla
                            • maV
                            • 16 Dec 2018

                            I ALWAYS buy phones with FM radio. Since Sagem MC-830 (year 2002), until LG V30 (today), And I usually change phone every 2 years.

                              • F
                              • Fayth
                              • tEZ
                              • 16 Dec 2018

                              Alien , 16 Dec 2018And play it on what? Invisible radios? I don't have anolog ... morebluetooth is ancient? I thought with headphone jack removal, bluetooth is the future

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • vV5
                                • 16 Dec 2018

                                I never use FM Radio features in my phone, in fact I never even bother to bring ear phone.

                                I can listen to FM Radio in my car, if I am on the street I don't bother to listen to Radio, most of all it is unsafe to put on ear phone while walking.

                                  Iam one of those guys who still adore FM radio. I like the conversations and discussions. They break the monotony of always listening to music (read music streaming).

                                    I listen to FM radio every day on my phone when I'm on a bus to/from work, at the same time reading an ebook/paperback. On a long train journey, FM radio is most beneficial.

                                      • Q
                                      • Qwertzuiop
                                      • SXm
                                      • 16 Dec 2018

                                      Eten gloffish V900 has DAB radio, FM radio and various TV standards

                                        • m
                                        • m
                                        • JK$
                                        • 16 Dec 2018

                                        I will never get this. Having FM radio on a phone does not prevent you from listening over internet if you like. Why some exclude it, even if chip supports it, just beats me. It is free and drains 3 to 5 times less battery. I just don't get it.

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