Inductors are part of the triad of "passive" electronic parts with the other two being capacitors and resistors. Best way to understand them is to think of their equiv. in mechanical world which is a coil spring. Here is a good video though that in simplest terms shows what it is and how it works:
As a designer, I hate using coils. They are usually custom parts as opposed to resistors and caps which come in all values. They are also more expensive and difficult to mount in circuits in high volume production (although there are some parts available that ease that in special cases). So if folks can afford to eliminate them, they will. Still, you will surely find some of them in any electronic device you have as it is (almost) impossible to build a power supply without them.
As a designer, I hate using coils. They are usually custom parts as opposed to resistors and caps which come in all values. They are also more expensive and difficult to mount in circuits in high volume production (although there are some parts available that ease that in special cases). So if folks can afford to eliminate them, they will. Still, you will surely find some of them in any electronic device you have as it is (almost) impossible to build a power supply without them.