OnePlus 5 makes fun of Apple; iPhone 7 lookalike lampoons headphone jack removal

OnePlus officially unveiled its latest flagship phone on Wednesday. It’s the Chinese electronics titan’s best handset yet thanks to the smartphone’s impressive specs and features, but it’s not the only reason why the company is making headlines. OnePlus deliberately took a shot at rival tech giant Apple during the phone’s launch, mocking the US-based company’s decision to remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Fans were excited at the launch event of the OnePlus 5. After all, it’s one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year, and its maker is one of the fastest growing mobile phone companies in the world. During the event, however, the handset created quite a buzz not for its features, but how OnePlus announced them.

The Shenzhen-based company’s designer, Diego Heinz, took a shot at Apple when it introduced the new smartphone’s features (see video below). Heinz initially teased about the phone’s supposed lack of a headphone jack and implied that it’s no longer necessary. Apple faced a lot of backlash when it decided to remove the audio feature from its current flagship handsets, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

“On the bottom, you’ll notice that we ditched the 3.5 mm headphone jack,” said Heinz. “The elegance of the overall design is instantly heightened. And who needs a headphone jack anyway? That’s why Bluetooth exists, right?”

The designer quickly brushed it off, saying he was just messing around. “Of course the OnePlus 5 has a headphone jack,” Heinz followed up.

Indeed, it has. After all, that kind of courage wouldn’t sit well with Android fans. Just ask HTC.

What’s courageous, though, is the fact that OnePlus’ latest offering looks exactly like the current iPhone and the company still made a joke at Apple’s expense. There is no doubt that the OnePlus 5 is an amazing phone, though. And it’s going to make the Chinese company a lot of money.

Heinz didn’t stop there, however. After confirming that his company’s new flagship indeed has a headphone jack, he showed off a Twitter poll about the audio feature. About 88 percent of the 8,047 responders made it known that they like headphone jacks.

OnePlus isn’t the first Apple rival that has made jokes at the Mac maker’s expense. During the launch of the now-discontinued Samsung Galaxy Note 7 last year, the South Korean company’s senior vice president of product strategy and marketing Justin Denison emphasised that the phablet had a headphone jack.

“Do you want to know what else it comes with?” Denison asked the audience. “An audio jack. I'm just saying.”