Why Google says it killed the headphone jack, even though it called out Apple last year for doing the same thing
Indeed, Google's new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are void of the old-but-ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack, despite the fact that Google itself poked fun at Apple for removing the headphone jack from its iPhone 7 lineup back in October 2016.
Here was the slide that Google included in its original Pixel phone announcement last year.
Unlike Apple and its "courage" reasoning for removing the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, Google didn't shed any light as to why it removed the headphone jack from the new Pixel 2 smartphones during its event. Google product chief Mario Queiroz did, however, tell Tech Crunch why after the presentation.
It turns out that Google wants to make future Pixel phones with thinner bezels, and removing the headphone jack "sooner rather than later" will make it easier to "make the shift," Queiroz told Tech Crunch. With that in mind, we can expect future Pixel smartphones to come with thinner bezels around the display than the new Pixel 2 XL.
Queiroz's statement begs the question as to why Google didn't just make the shift now and give the Pixel 2 phones the ultra-narrow bezels that it wants to add to its future Pixel phones. Apparently, Google wanted to have two front-facing speakers on its phones, which wouldn't allow for the ultra narrow bezels that's you'd find on the iPhone X or Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Note 8 phones, according to Tech Crunch.
Removing the headphone jack in the Pixel 2 also opened up the opportunity for Google to introduce its new Pixel Bud earphones, according to Queiroz. The PixelBud earphones are Google's own version of Apple's AirPods, which are designed to ease the transition from wired headphones to wireless headphones, at least for those with headphone jack-less iPhones.
Either way, my feelings about removing headphone jacks on smartphones are mixed. On one hand, I hate wires, and I already use wireless headphones. On the other hand, headphone jacks are useful when wireless headphone batteries die, and many wireless headphones come with headphone wires in case you're out of reach of a charger.
Google did mention that the new Pixel 2 phones will come with a USB-C headphone jack adapter, so you'll have to keep the adapter handy in case your wireless headphone batteries die, or if you plan on keeping your wired headphones.