Google today shared a new Pixel 5a ad that aims to parody some of the product presentation videos that former Apple chief designer Jony Ive made to highlight the new features of the iPhone.
In the video, Google spends two full minutes describing the design of the Pixel 5a’s headphone jack in exaggerated language and, as noted CNET, there are even two times when the video uses Ive’s British aluminum pronunciation. From the video description:
Calling this perfectly symmetrical technological marvel, a “headphone jack” may seem like an understatement … but technically, that’s what it’s called, so … fair enough. Here! Headphone jack, on Google Pixel 5a with 5G.
Since Jony Ive is no longer Apple’s head of design and doesn’t make videos of Apple products, it’s unclear why Google chose to make a video imitating it two years after he left the company. A video promoting the headphone jack is also an unusual choice, as the fervor for the component has faded now that many high-end smartphones have removed it, including Google’s flagship Pixel models.
The $ 449 Pixel 5a goes on sale today. In addition to a headphone jack, it features a 6.3-inch screen with perforated camera clipping, IP67 water resistance, 5G connectivity and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip.
Google’s Pixel 5a is competing with the $ 699 iPhone 12 mini and the $ 399 iPhone SE right now, but Apple plans to release an updated 5G version of the iPhone SE by 2022.