"Father of Android" Rubin: A man that Jobs regarded as a thorn in his side

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Far away in Mountain View, California, on the west coast of the United States, a man is sadly walking out of the Googleplex, the headquarters building of Google where he has been for nearly 9 years. If it weren't for the trick of fate, as the key figure who pushed Google to acquire Motorola, he would have the opportunity to revive this hardware empire; and if it weren't for his strong character, as the founder of Android, his career would be at its peak.

But now, he has chosen to leave Google and set up a startup incubator to help startups interested in technology hardware products.

He once changed Google's corporate organizational structure and was one of Google's most powerful executives. He once headed Google's robot development project, but his most remembered achievement was leading the development of the world's most widely used mobile operating system. He is Andy Rubin, known as the "Father of Android."

The "perverted" craftsman

In the eyes of his colleagues, Rubin is a "perverted" craftsman who always tries to predict future changes in the industry. At the same time, he is also keen on some detailed work such as programming. In addition, Rubin is also seen as a demanding leader and sometimes even considered difficult to work with, which has led to high staff turnover in the Android department and unbearable employee suffering. Employees of other mobile companies that have a cooperative relationship with Google privately complained that Rubin exerted too much influence on the design of Android hardware products.

However, some colleagues said that Rubin was not only loyal to the team, but also generous. Every six months, Rubin would hold a party at his home, which was similar to what Google did at its headquarters in Mountain View. In the fall of 2008, when the first Android smartphone was released and Rubin received millions of dollars in the contract, he distributed part of it as a bonus to other members of the team, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per person. This practice was the first of its kind at Google at the time.

According to Rubin's close friend Steve Perlman, making robots has been Rubin's favorite personal pastime since the 1980s. His home in Silicon Valley is filled with various robots. In 2005, Rubin sold the company he founded to Google, and the company was called Android Inc. at the time, which is enough to show his love for robots.

As a senior researcher of mobile phones, Rubin founded Android in 2003, but at that time he had no funds and sometimes even had to borrow money from friends to pay office rent. Before that, Rubin also founded Danger and successfully built an Internet-enabled smartphone, which he named Sidekick.

Jobs's "thorn in the eye"

Android caught Google's attention in part because Rubin had met Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. After seeing Rubin's Sidekick, both became fans of the experimental product. Google's acquisition of Android shocked Silicon Valley. As for the purpose of the acquisition, Google remained silent.

Android was mostly a secret Google project from 2005 to 2007, aimed at creating a modern smartphone operating system that would allow the installation of powerful Internet applications without the constraints of wireless carriers, who at the time controlled the installation of applications.

In terms of mobile operating systems, Microsoft's initial profit model was to charge device manufacturers a certain fee. Google planned to launch Android software for free at the time, believing that they could get returns through mobile ads that appeared on mobile phones. Android's open R&D plan also allowed third-party program developers to help improve its software.

In June 2007, Apple's iPhone was launched, becoming the main competitor of the nascent Android smartphone. However, from another perspective, the birth of the iPhone also promoted the development of Android. Since other manufacturers were unable to develop their own operating systems, the popularity of the iPhone prompted mobile phone manufacturers to start moving closer to Android.

The first Android smartphone, the G1, came out in the fall of 2008 to a frustrating start and tepid reviews, but it was impressive enough to get hardware makers and carriers to come knocking. Android's offices, in Building 44 at Google's Mountain View headquarters, became a mecca for mobile CEOs.

In mid-2009, Android had a team of about 150 people. Rubin decided to create a more sophisticated business team, a concept unheard of at Google at the time, because Google traditionally managed engineers and business managers separately. Fortunately, this proposal was supported by Eric Schmidt, then CEO of Google, and Rubin created the first "business team" within Google. From then on, other departments, including the Chrome browser team, also became business teams.

In the fall of 2010, Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs criticized Rubin and his Android team during an earnings call, which delighted Rubin and his colleagues. Jobs said at the time that Android had problems because of software fragmentation.

Of course, this is not the first time that Jobs criticized Rubin. There was a conversation between Google and Apple executives. Apple was represented by Jobs and iOS head Forstall (who was later fired by Cook), while Google was represented by Page and Rubin's report. The atmosphere of the meeting was very tense and awkward.

An Apple executive familiar with the conversation said the conversation turned into a personal attack. Jobs criticized Rubin's actions as "anti-innovation." Jobs also insulted Rubin, saying that he imitated him in every way, from his demeanor to his hairstyle to his glasses.

Stubborn like a bull

On March 4, 2013, when Android was at its peak, Google suddenly announced that Rubin would resign as head of Android and turn to developing robots. Sundar Pichai, an Indian executive in charge of the Chrome browser and Chrome OS, would take charge of the Android business.

Why did Rubin suddenly leave the Android team? What is the inside story? A recent in-depth report by Business Weekly dug out some unknown details.

As previously rumored in Silicon Valley, Rubin is a talented person, but his personal style does not make the outside world feel comfortable.
Android has many global mobile phone manufacturers as partners. According to Google's internal executives, in the eyes of these manufacturers who want to get special treatment from Google, Rubin is a bit unscrupulous and difficult to work with.

Within Google, Rubin's Android business team is independent and rarely interacts with other Google employees. Many Google employees pointed out that they are happier working with Apple than with their own Android team.

Brian Rakowski, vice president of the Android business, said that the impression that Android business has left within Google may be related to its development pace. Android team employees need to focus and avoid being disturbed by anyone.

Both Google's internal product project teams and Android application developers around the world hope to get some special treatment from Rubin. Rubin treats Google teams and external developers equally.

A Google employee said that the most intense high-level verbal fight he had witnessed at Google was caused by Rubin's unwillingness to cooperate with the team within Google.

As we all know, Google's most famous browser is Chrome, but in the Android system, the built-in browser is not Chrome, but a product developed by the Android team itself.

Faced with Rubin's non-cooperation, Page took drastic measures and asked Rubin to stop being in charge of Android business. A person close to Google's management team said that forcing Rubin to resign as the head of Android was the most difficult decision Page had made when he succeeded Schmidt as Google CEO three years ago.

Not long after, Rubin resigned as head of Android, but he was still willing to stay at Google and engage in robot research and development.
Faced with Rubin being sidelined, the US technology media could not stand it. TechCrunch recently selected candidates to succeed Ballmer as Microsoft CEO, and Rubin was on the list. TechCrunch also emphasized that "the technology industry doesn't know what Rubin is doing now." It is not difficult to understand Rubin's sad departure.

Whether it is the fragmentation problem or the criticism from Steve Jobs, no one can deny the huge influence of Android in the field of mobile devices, and no one can deny the contribution made by Rubin in its development. Rubin has thus become an important historical figure who has influenced the evolution of human computing, just like Gates and Jobs.

As Google CEO Page said in a statement: "He led the development of a truly remarkable product, Android, with more than a billion happy users. Thank you."