Google removed this Pixel 6A feature after blasting Apple for doing the same thing

Google has dropped the headphone jack from its Pixel 6A less than 12 months after it made a parody video mocking the iPhone's lack of 3.5mm connectivity.

Google announced the Pixel 6A yesterday, a more budget version of its Pixel lineup that costs just $449. It features two 12MP cameras and the Pixel 6's Tensor chipset, as well as 5G.

But one feature was distinctly lacking from the device, the 3.5mm headphone jack. As reported by our friends at Android Central:

The Pixel 6a borrows heavily from the Pixel 6 in its design, particularly its wide camera bar housing two lenses and a flash LED. It'll make the cool Pixel design more widespread, given the Pixel A series has traditionally sold in much higher numbers than the flagship Pixels.

One negative of the shift to the Pixel 6 design is that the 6a abandoned the 3.5mm headphone jack found on the Pixel 5a, which is a genuine shame.

The shift is also pretty hilarious when you consider that Google mocked Apple's lack of headphone jack across its best iPhones in a parody video it made to advertise the Pixel 5a last year.

From the video's 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.

This isn't the first, or likely the last time, that Apple has caught flack for making changes to its product lineup that everyone else then shamelessly follows. Samsung has been caught mocking Apple over the notch on the iPhone 13, right before adding one to its Galaxy S8 Ultra tablet. The company also slammed Apple for removing the charger from the box of its iPhone 12 before also following suit.