Google Channels Jony Ive in Ad Promoting Pixel 5a Headphone Jack
Google today shared a new Pixel 5a ad that's meant to parody some of the product intro videos that former Apple design chief Jony Ive used to make to highlight new iPhone features.
In the video, Google spends a full two minutes describing the design of the Pixel 5a's headphone jack in exaggeratory language, and as noted by
CNET, there are even two moments where the video uses Ive's British pronunciation of aluminum. From the video description:
Calling this perfectly-symmetrical, technological marvel, a "headphone jack" may feel like an understatement...but technically, that's what it's called, so... fair enough. Behold! The Headphone Jack, on the Google Pixel 5a with 5G.
Since Jony Ive is no longer Apple's design chief and does not make Apple's product videos, it's not clear why Google has opted to make a video imitating him two years after he left the company. A video promoting the headphone jack is also an unusual choice as fervor over the component has died down now that many high-end smartphones have eliminated it, including Google's own flagship Pixel models.
The $449 Pixel 5a goes on sale today. In addition to a headphone jack, it features a 6.3-inch display with hole punch camera cutout, IP67 water resistance, 5G connectivity, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip.
Google's Pixel 5a competes with the $699 iPhone 12 mini and the $399 iPhone SE at the current time, but Apple plans to release an upgraded 5G version of the iPhone SE for 2022.
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