Why did the radio disappear from our mobile phones?

In the era of smart phones, Apple took the lead in canceling FM radios, and then domestic and foreign manufacturers followed suit. I remember last year's Glory V8 should be the last flagship mobile phone supporting radio. At present, the flagship phones of domestic mainstream brands Huawei, OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, Nubia, Yijia and Meizu do not support FM radio.

The cancellation of FM FM broadcasting by mobile phones is mainly considered from these aspects:

1, cost. The function of FM radio means an independent signal receiving module. Although the cost of this module may be only a few dollars or even a few cents, the average mobile phone reaching tens of millions is still quite expensive. What's more, today's smart phones emphasize thinness, and the space inside the phone is very precious. Apple even canceled the 3.5mm audio interface.

An FM radio module that is rarely used and occupies space has naturally become the first "castration" object of mobile phone manufacturers. In addition, the patent of integrating FM radio function into mobile phone seems to belong to Nokia. Every time other manufacturers produce a mobile phone that supports FM radio, they have to pay a certain patent fee. Although the cost is not high, but now the price of mobile phones has been very low, so if you can save the cost, it will be saved.

2. The function of FM radio is too limited. I used to have this experience when I listened to the radio on my mobile phone. You can't hear the radio by directly turning on the FM radio software in your mobile phone. You must plug in headphones. This is because FM radio receives the most common ultrashort wave signal, which is characterized by supporting stereo dual channels and good sound quality, but its transmission distance is short and it is easily influenced by buildings.

Therefore, when using FM radio function, the earphone cable must be used as the signal receiving antenna, which is more troublesome to use. In addition, short waves can't penetrate underground, so you can't receive FM broadcast signals in the subway. Now the subway is the main means of transportation for people to travel, and over time, few people use the FM radio function.

There are too many substitute products. At present, 4G traffic is very cheap, and it doesn't cost much to transmit low-quality audio. Coupled with the ubiquity of 4G networks, it is not limited by terrain. So if people want to listen to the radio, they just need to download an APP that supports radio and listen to it in the subway without plugging in headphones.

However, although most people no longer listen to the radio, I think FM radio is still a very necessary function. For example, in case of emergencies or natural disasters, the communication network of operators may be interrupted by external forces such as the damage of base stations, or blocked by excessive instantaneous network requests. At this time, it will be very difficult to make phone calls and surf the Internet.

On the contrary, because short-wave signals can send information to most cities with only one tower, it is not easy to break down. In this case, FM broadcasting can become an important channel for people to understand the outside world. Therefore, it is very necessary to put a radio supporting short wave or even medium wave at home in case of emergency.