Google Kills Headphone Jack in Latest Pixel 6A Just Months After Parodying Apple

[MacRumors]

Google on Wednesday unveiled its latest mid-range 5G smartphone, the Pixel 6A, and for the first time, this A-series model is missing a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The lack of a headphone jack on the Pixel 6A follows a technology trend that Apple started with the iPhone 7 in 2016, and in that sense is relatively unsurprising.

Yet as recently as last August, Google was touting the inclusion of a headphone jack on the Pixel 5A with an ad that parodied some of the product intro videos that former Apple design chief Jony Ive used to make to highlight new iPhone features.

This isn't the first time Google has indirectly mocked Apple for dropping the headphone jack, only for it to later do precisely the same. Google poked fun at the iPhone 7's lack of headphone jack while unveiling its original Pixel smartphone in 2016, and then the Pixel 2 launched without one just a year later.

Samsung fell for the same short-sighted marketing approach in 2018 when it mocked the iPhone X's lack of a headphone jack in one of its "Ingenius" ads promoting the Galaxy S9. Five months later it introduced the Galaxy A8s, its first smartphone without a headphone jack, much to the amusement of iPhone users.

The Google Pixel 6A costs $449 and features a slight redesign in line with last year's Pixel 6 range, with a raised camera bump on the rear that houses a 12MP main camera and a 12MP ultra-wide lens. Powered by the company's custom Tensor chipset, the 6A comes with a 6.1-inch OLED 1080p display running at 60Hz and includes an under-screen fingerprint sensor.

Article Link: Google Kills Headphone Jack in Latest Pixel 6A Just Months After Parodying Apple

 

[contacos]

typo in the headline? I guess you meant to say "5A" not "3A"

 

[cchase887543]

Title says 3A, but article says 6A

 

[timmyh]

typo in the headline? I guess you meant to say "5A" not "3A"

Thanks, my bad! I've corrected it now... 6A.

 

[zapmymac]

Who cares, this is an Apple-centric site. Knowing Google, six months from now they’ll re-introduce it.

P.S. Their advert was funny though

 

[MajorFubar]

I'm old enough to remember Apple getting rid of the 3.5" floppy drive and the shock it generated. Didn't take long for everyone else to follow. When the headphone jack disappeared from the iPhone it probably mostly affected those people using GarageBand on their iPhones, because BT headphones have too much latency. So from that point on you had to use dongles if you wanted to both charge your phone and use a headphone adaptor. Most other people had already moved over to BT headphones I reckon, and were almost completely unaffected.

 

[GalileoSeven]

Pot, meet kettle.

 

[alexe]

Good, makes sense to remove it. Apple might have been a bit early, but even back then I didn't fully understand the extent of the moaning.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Has Google dethroned Samsung as lead Ad Mocker?

OR

It proves Apple are truly the real leaders in the technology space.

 

[BootsWalking]

Now that Google has copied Apple's removal of the headphone jack maybe they can now try and copy Apple's amazing ARM processors as well ?

 

[iBluetooth]

Now that Google has copied Apple's removal of the headphone jack maybe they can now try and copy Apple's amazing ARM processors as well ?

Qualcomm is doing that job on behalf of Google and bought the firm working on this. They have been sued by Apple now for stealing documents when leaving their positions at Apple.

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

I'm old enough to remember Apple getting rid of the 3.5" floppy drive and the shock it generated. Didn't take long for everyone else to follow. When the headphone jack disappeared from the iPhone it probably mostly affected those people using GarageBand on their iPhones, because BT headphones have too much latency. So from that point on you had to use dongles if you wanted to both charge your phone and use a headphone adaptor. Most other people had already moved over to BT headphones I reckon, and were almost completely unaffected.

The market was going that way anyway with Firewire and the Floppy. Apple just got there first (and was with Firewire really its last remaining supporter)

The 3.5mm headphone jack was more of a commercial decision to push lightning more (and those sweet mfi payments) as well as push people towards the bluetooth headphones of the brand it just acquired from Dr. Dre. It was less 'brave' and more 'we can get even richer'.

Still, if you're missing one and want a 'Pro' phone with actual features you might consider to be professional like a 3.5mm jack, an actual telephoto lens instead of a fixed zoom, bottomless manual controls, records 4K120 on all its lenses, has the software to match all this and uses terminology grown-ups use then I hear Sony has you covered.

 

[44267547]

Samsung also made Apple snark years back.

The whole ‘removal of the 3.5 mm Jack’, was blown way out of proportion. Consumers were already using Bluetooth devices when it was removed on the iPhone 7 in 2016. All Apple was doing was paving the way for the future, some understood that, and others refused to adapt. For me personally, the AirPods made that transition much more seamless given how easily they connected and the simplicity of use.

 

[ThomasJL]

While it was idiotic of Apple to remove the headphone jack, it is much more idiotic for Google and Samsung to make fun of Apple for it and then later copy it. Apple may choose to have a stupid conviction (like removing the headphone jack), but Google and Samsung have no conviction, which is even worse.

 

[BvizioN]

We all know how the story goes. Make fun of Apple first then next minute follow same exact steps. They all do.

 

[wonderings]

Samsung also made Apple snark years back.

The whole ‘removal of the 3.5 mm Jack’, was blown way out of proportion. Consumers were already using Bluetooth devices when it was removed on the iPhone 7 in 2016. All Apple was doing was paving the way for the future, some understood that, and others refused to adapt. For me personally, the AirPods made that transition much more seamless given how easily they connected and the simplicity of use.

Not sure it was blown way out of proportion. I think it would be safe to say the majority of people were using wired headphones still. Now they are basically forced to buy new wireless headphones that are not cheap if they want to continue using their new phone as they did before. Smart move on Apples part, but it was simply done to push more sales into their AirPods and Beats headphones. These tech companies are thinking of how much money they are making, don't deceive yourself in thinking that Apple and anyone else is really doing this for the betterment of mankind.

 

[44267547]

While it was idiotic of Apple to remove the headphone jack.

I’d say it’s evident then you didn’t understand Apples business model at that time.

They removed the headphone Jack in September 2016, then that made the transition for the AirPods which launched three months later in 2016. Then they capitalized on the market with a proprietary product that had a similar fit to the wired EarPods, and we all know the popularity the AirPods had immediately at launch. There’s nothing idiotic about that, you’re just in that segment of people that refused to adapt to the changes in technology. It’s how it is.

 

[Steve121178]

Who cares, this is an Apple-centric site.

It's always good to know what the others are doing. You can easily skip articles that don't interest you. The thread title tends to be a clue.

I watched the highlights of Google I/O event yesterday and they are going all in with their own ecosystem, mirroring Apple. It might take them a few years to get it right but it won't take too long to surpass Apple's software with quality and features as Google don't tend to tread water like Apple do.

But it's Google, so they tend to change their direction like the wind. So there's that.

 

[MauiPa]

Who keeps saying google can’t innovate anymore? Now they are copying Samsung. Great news

 

[ThomasJL]

I’d say it’s evident then you don’t understand Apples business model 101.

They removed the headphone Jack in September 2016, then that made the transition for the AirPods which launched three months later in 2016. Then they capitalized on the market with a proprietary product that had a similar fit to the wired EarPods, and we all know the popularity the AirPods had immediately at launch.

Oh, I understand full well that Tim Cook cares more about money than functionality.

 

[ThomasJL]

Who keeps saying google can’t innovate anymore? Now they are copying Samsung. Great news

Google copying Samsung copying Apple.

 

[44267547]

Not sure it was blown way out of proportion.

Absolutely it was blown out of proportion on the Internet.

I never came across one person that cared about the headphone jack being removed outside this forum, when the majority of consumers were already using wireless earbuds. Keep in mind, Internet forums are not always indicative of real-world experiences to consumers, when people on various discussion sites, like to incessantly complain about Apple, because it give them some type of slight satisfaction to feel better that they can jab at Apple.

Apple did what other manufacturers were afraid of doing, which was bridging that gap to a wireless world in a transition.

 

[44267547]

Tim Cook cares more about money than functionality.

Conflating Tim Cook and technological changes why the headphone jack was removed is not mutually exclusive, and shows your intended snark that is clearly misguided and totally irrelevant. That’s not going to fly.

 

[wordsworth]

So Google just got their own joke, and realised it wasn't so funny?

 

[apveenstra]

Same thing happened with the chargers...