One of the questions people have about the Google Pixel 6a is whether or not it has a headphone jack. Previous Pixel a-series phones — the Pixel 3a, Pixel 4a, and Pixel 5a — all shipped with 3.5mm headphone jacks. It was convenient, helpful, and a notable difference compared to the missing headphone jacks on more expensive Pixels.
Of all the new upgrades Google mentioned for the Pixel 6a at Google I/O 2022 — including the Tensor processor, longer battery life, sleeker design, and robust camera features — it left out the headphone jack. While the company didn’t give an official explanation as to why it removed the headphone jack, from an economic perspective, not including the port probably made the Pixel 6a cheaper to manufacture and helped justify the $449 price tag.