Google parodies Jony Ive's design videos in new ad for the Google Pixel 5a with 5G

Google Pixel 5a 5g Full Circle Ad
Google Pixel 5a 5g Full Circle Ad (Image credit: Google)

What you need to know

  • Google is out with a new ad for the Google Pixel 5a with 5G.
  • The ad pokes fun at the iconic Jony Ive design videos that Apple used to make.

If anyone remembers Jony Ive's tenure at Apple, the executive's design videos almost immediately come to mind. They commonly featured Ive, or at least the voice of Ive, talking about the design behind a new product that the company was announcing.

Here's an example if you need remembering:

Jony Ive

Jony Ive (Image credit: Apple)

Ive's voice was always unmistakable, and Google is making a bet that everyone will still remember it now.

Earlier today, the company released a new video to its YouTube channel that, quite intentionally, appears earily reminiscent of the videos that Ive was a part of before leaving Apple. The new video, in addition to poking fun at Ive's narration, also mocks other phone companies like Apple for not featuring a headphone jack on their phones.

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.

Of course, Google needs to stick with the Google Pixel 5a with 5G for this joke to work. The company's own flagship, the Pixel 5, does not feature a headphone jack and the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are not expected to either.

Many phones have dumped the headphone jack after Apple did as the promise and capability of wireless headphones grew. Not only are wireless headphones more convenient, they represent an enormous business opportunity to each phone brand that also sells its own wireless headphones.

AirPods, for example, would equate to a Fortune 100 business if the product line was split off into its own company from Apple. While it's easy to poke fun, Google is surely looking to recreate that kind of business with its Pixel Buds line.

Apple is expected to release the 3rd generation of AirPods at an event on September 14 with a release date of September 30. At least, that is what the current rumors point to.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.