andy_rubin_headshotGoogle CEO Larry Page today announced that Andy Rubin is stepping down as head of the company's Android division, turning over the reins to Sundar Pichai, who has led Google's Chrome and Apps efforts.

Sergey and I first heard about Android back in 2004, when Andy Rubin came to visit us at Google. He believed that aligning standards around an open-source operating system would drive innovation across the mobile industry. Most people thought he was nuts. But his insight immediately struck a chord because at the time it was extremely painful developing services for mobile devices.

Rubin will remain with Google, heading up unspecified new products.

Rubin, who spent several years at Apple as an engineer, co-founded Android in 2003 and remained at the head of those efforts following Google's acquisition of Android in August 2005. Apple has claimed that a key Android framework was inspired by his work at Apple, although the company has refrained from pressing that issue in court as it has focused its legal battles on manufacturers of Android-based handsets rather Android itself.

In his post, Page also shares some new Android statistics, revealing that over 750 million Android devices have been activated worldwide and that over 25 billion apps have been downloaded from the Google Play marketplace.

Top Rated Comments

roxxette Avatar
155 months ago
Andy Rubin. AKA, corrupt, thieving, lying, stool Pidgin.

Thermonuclear Andy, Thermonuclear. :apple:

----------



Nice. ;)

Stop making a fool of yourself :(
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oletros Avatar
155 months ago
Andy Rubin. AKA, corrupt, thieving, lying, stool Pidgin.

And I like when people says more about themselves that they say about the people they trying to slander
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yelmurc Avatar
155 months ago
Did Google just copy Apple's Forstall ouster?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shrink Avatar
155 months ago
lol he even copies job's looks

There's a lawsuit in there somewhere.

Two eye, a nose, a mouth...just like Jobs!:eek:

:D
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oletros Avatar
155 months ago
I have worked with him before. He is a horrible horrible person.

And he kills puppies :rolleyes:
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac-Mariachi Avatar
155 months ago
Yeah right!

"...when Andy Rubin came to visit us at Google. He believed that aligning standards around an open-source operating system would drive innovation across the mobile industry."

More like, "Hey, I´m working on some cool frameworks for Apple´s new mobile OS. I can give them to you if I run the Android division."
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
iOS 18

5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Beta Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday January 24, 2025 8:16 am PST by
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner. Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri ...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

Kuo: iPhone 17 Models Won't Have Smaller Dynamic Island

Friday January 24, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The upcoming iPhone 17 models that Apple plans to release this year will not feature a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today. On social media, he said that he is expecting the size of the Dynamic Island to remain "largely unchanged" across the iPhone 17 lineup. His statement is contrary to prior rumors that we've heard about planned changes for the iPhone 17 models. ...
iPhone 16 Apple Store Levels

Gurman: Apple Stores Receiving 'Merchandise' Updates Next Week

Saturday January 25, 2025 5:07 pm PST by
Apple's retail stores will be rolling out "merchandise/floor marketing updates" next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman did not explicitly say if the store updates are related to any upcoming product announcements, but he did mention that next week is around the time that Apple rolls out its annual Black Unity watch band for the Apple Watch. In each of the past four years, ...
apple power beats pro 2

Apple's First Product Announcement of 2025 is Imminent

Thursday January 23, 2025 2:48 pm PST by
It's also time for Apple's first product announcement of the year. Last year, Apple said it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and the wireless earbuds are expected to launch very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the...