Motorola Defies Industry Trend by Keeping FM Radio in US Smartphones
While giants like Apple and Samsung have abandoned terrestrial radio, Motorola continues to offer the feature in its Moto G series.
Motorola is maintaining a legacy hardware feature that most of the smartphone industry has long since abandoned. While major manufacturers have stripped terrestrial FM radio from their devices, Motorola continues to include functional FM hardware and dedicated apps in its Moto G series for the US market.
Recent examples of this commitment include the Moto G 2025 and the Moto G Power 2026, both of which support local FM broadcasts. To utilize the feature, users must plug in wired headphones, which serve as the necessary antenna for the radio to function. While Motorola is the most prominent holdout, TCL also lists wired FM radio support for its 60 XE NXTPAPER 5G model in the US.
The decline of the radio chip
Terrestrial FM radio was once a standard component of mobile connectivity. Hardware support was frequently bundled into integrated connectivity chips, such as Qualcomm's WCN3660, which combined Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM capabilities into a single package. However, the rise of internet streaming and the industry-wide removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack—the primary antenna for these radios—led most brands to disable or remove the feature entirely.
The shift was not always a matter of removing hardware, but rather a choice of software. According to a 2014 study by NAB Labs, 69% of the top-selling smartphones in the US actually contained the necessary FM hardware, but manufacturers had intentionally disabled it before the phones reached consumers.
Why terrestrial radio still matters
Maintaining FM capabilities provides a critical utility that streaming services cannot replicate: reliability during a crisis. Terrestrial radio serves as a vital communication channel during emergencies when cellular networks are congested or completely offline, allowing users to receive official alerts and local news without relying on a signal tower.
Beyond emergency utility, the feature offers a cost-effective way to consume local media. Because it operates on radio waves rather than data packets, users can listen to local broadcasts without incurring mobile data charges or maintaining monthly subscription accounts. This persistence reflects a specific consumer appetite for hardware that remains functional regardless of connectivity or subscription status.
The future of the feature
As the industry moves further toward wireless audio and integrated eSIMs, the physical requirements for FM radio—specifically the wired antenna—make it an anomaly in modern design. It remains to be seen if Motorola will find a way to sustain this feature as the 3.5mm jack disappears from more of its lineup, or if the Moto G series will remain the final sanctuary for terrestrial radio in the American smartphone market.