One of the oldest dramatic devices in a TV show or movie drama is to have the hero or police spy go into a meeting with the criminal desperados wearing a wire.
There has been zero technological progress in the size of these listening devices ever since I started watching TV.
When undercover agents record conversations., they use a bulky tape recorder strapped around their waists, and wires — connected to a microphone — secured to their chests with an adhesive.
When the criminals look for the wire, they tear off the shirt of the suspected police spy to look for the wire. They never check his mobile phone.
Today, eavesdropping equipment is sophisticated enough to record high-definition video and sound, and stream it live to a remote computer. Devices no bigger than a pen cap can be slipped into a coat pocket and easily record through the person’s clothing.
Scriptwriters are really going to have to look for a substitute dramatic device. Pretty soon, a large part of the audience simply will not recognise an old-fashioned tape recorder.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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