After spending years mocking Apple for ditching the headphone jack in iPhones, Google is getting rid of it too
- Google announced a new phone this week: the Pixel 6a.
- The Pixel 6a is the latest entry in Google's long-running budget-smartphone line.
- After years of knocking Apple for removing the headphone jack, the 6a also drops the legacy port.
Google's next major smartphone, the Pixel 6a, marks the end of an era: Like Apple's iPhones and the Pixel flagship line, the 6a doesn't have a headphone jack.
When the new phone arrives sometime this summer, the only way to plug in headphones will be through the USB-C port. You can use an adapter to plug in traditional headphones, or you can use Bluetooth headphones instead.
The budget line of Google's fan-favorite Pixel phones was one of the last holdouts with a headphone jack in a market that started phasing them out back in 2016 when Apple dropped the feature with the iPhone 7.
Over the last six years, Google repeatedly played up that distinguishing characteristic in advertising.
As recently as last August — just nine months ago — Google created an entire ad for the Pixel 5a based on it having a headphone jack:
As The Verge highlights, Google has been touting the headphone jack as a key feature of the Pixel line since its inception.
Though Google eventually removed the headphone jack from its flagship Pixel phones, it continued touting the port in its more budget-friendly Pixel "a" line.
That distinction ended this week, when Google unveiled the new Pixel 6a at its annual developer conference, Google I/O.
"We ultimately decided that including a headphone jack detracted from core product specifications and didn't align with the Google ecosystem we are striving for," a Google representative told Insider. "We significantly improved the Pixel 6a's Bluetooth performance by adding Bluetooth v5.2 and dual chain support, meaning connected devices will have great audio range and quality."
Take a look at the next Google Pixel right here:
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