Andy Rubin Leaves Android, Prepares For a new Role

Posted on Thursday, March 14th, 2013 at 12:47 am.

The pace of innovation has never been greater, and Android is the most used mobile operating system in the world: we have a global partnership of over 60 manufacturers; more than 750 million devices have been activated globally; and 25 billion apps have now been downloaded from Google Play. Pretty extraordinary progress for a decade’s work. Having exceeded even the crazy ambitious goals we dreamed of for Android—and with a really strong leadership team in place—Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google. Andy, more moonshots please!

-Official Google Blog

Andy Rubin is out as the leader of Google’s Android efforts. “Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google. Andy, more moonshots please!,” CEO Larry Page wrote in a blog post this morning.

Rubin in handing the reins to Sundar Pichai, a nine-year Google veteran who is the senior vice president for Chrome and Apps. This move may be an indication that Android and Chrome will grow closer together, as they compete with Apple’s iOS and Mac OS.

Rubin came to Google in August 2005 , when the company acquired his mobile software startup, Android, Inc. He helped create the Danger Hiptop, better known to many of you as the T-Mobile sidekick, before switching gears and co-founding Android. As such, he’s been an integral part of the development of Android ever since its inception. While he’s had a great run, it looks like Rubin has decided to take up new pursuits.

What’s Next For Rubin ?

Rubin’s background in mobile makes him a great candidate for the X Lab, which focuses heavily on wearable computing, but it’s also worth remembering that Android itself was the kind of moonshot Page loves so much. Nobody really thought Google could pull this one off and the first version were definitely still crude. The project that is going to carry this idea forward, in many ways, is Google Glass – which runs on Android. Run has been great at turning ideas into products and that’s something Project X could surely benefit from.