6 months after Andy Rubin's exit, another top executive leaves Google's Android team

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
One of the most high-profile members of Google's Android team has left the company for a handset maker in China, just over six months after Andy Rubin, former head of Android development, took on a new position.

Barra


Google confirmed this week that Hugo Barra, former vice president of product management for Android, has left the company. Barra has served as a very public face for Android, leading many of Google's product unveilings and demonstrations.

Barra has left Google to become a vice president at at Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker that builds handsets that use the Android mobile operating system. Google said in a statement that the company is "excited" the former executive is "staying within the Android ecosystem."

The departure comes as Barra allegedly ended a "thorny" relationship with a co-worker at Google, according to sources who spoke with AllThingsD. Though Barra reportedly tendered his resignation before the split, that Google employee is now said to be dating Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who recently split with his own wife.

Barra's exit is the second major change to the Android team in just six months. In March, Google announced that Andy Rubin, who served as head of Android since the platform was acquired in 2005, was moving on to a "new chapter" at the company.

The major shakeup at Google has occurred as Android has established itself as the market share leader in smartphones, but also as the search company struggles to monetize the platform and end fragmentation among different hardware vendors.

Apple saw its own mobile division see major changes late last year with the departure of iOS chief Scott Forstall. That led to head designer Jony Ive taking control of Apple's iPhone and iPad operating system, leading to a major overhaul in the design of iOS 7.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    I'd rather see that little green fella leave; he looks spooky to me!
  • Reply 2 of 57
    hydrhydr Posts: 146member
    The Android balloon is inflating rapidly. They may have grabbed the lion share of low cost smartphones worldwide, but they have done with on a core that is in grave trouble right now.

    Lag, fragmentation, malware, slow progress are not the important reasons for the despair, but all the infringement of tons of patents from several companies. Fosspatents has great insight into this. They are losing battle after battle, and the motorola acquisition which was suppose to give Google enough ammo to fight back has turned sour.

    Right now it looks like even Google has realized that this plan has backfired, and they appear to be minimizing Android development/progress, and moving more and more resources into ChromeOS. They are slowly moving away, look at their latest Chromecast.

    With Samsung wanting to move away to Tizen, HTC developing their own OS - we can clearly see where this is heading.

    Apple need only to continue working on IOS, progressing, adding, enriching the ecosystem - and I am convinced that IOS will gain marketshare in the coming months and years.
  • Reply 3 of 57


    Anyone think that Xiaomi is now going to fork Android? I don't think they're part of the OHA.


     


    And you can't compare this to Forstall. He was released by Apple. Barra left on his own. Apple would have accounted for changes made by Forstall leaving when they made the decision - Google is now stuck trying to fill the shoes of someone leaving unexpectedly.

  • Reply 4 of 57
    Googlers can't even get their personal lives under control ... without Ads / Dramas! ROFLMAO

    On another note, I am excited for Sergey Brin's ex-wife for kicking the guy's ass. I bet she caught him watching porn on his google glass!
  • Reply 5 of 57
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Those personal 'partner' bits sound like a soap opera! "Boss takes employee's gf after dumping wife, employee leaves ..." After that I can imagine the next episode would be, "Ex employee finds way to really screw with former employer by ..." [add your own ending.]
  • Reply 6 of 57
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member


    Given the personal drama and the (apparent) sleeping around, the fact that he is leaving could easily have nothing to do with Rubin.


     


    Therefore linking it to Rubin and Android's position at Google. would seem uncalled for.  

  • Reply 7 of 57
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I wonder when people will finally start to figure out that Google doesn't really care about Android, Chrome is where it's at for them. The point of Android was to counter Windows mobile and keep iPhone from becoming dominant. Android has done its job. At this point I don't think Google much cares about it.
  • Reply 8 of 57

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee View Post


    Anyone think that Xiaomi is now going to fork Android? I don't think they're part of the OHA.



     


    Someone has to say it...


     


    Android is already forked.

  • Reply 9 of 57


    Does this mean that he is going to stay in China image image or work from USA? image

  • Reply 10 of 57
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member


    Google is Doomed?

  • Reply 11 of 57
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee View Post


    Anyone think that Xiaomi is now going to fork Android? I don't think they're part of the OHA.



     


    It's unclear exactly what Xiaomi does in-house and what they outsource.  If they outsource to any companies which are part of the OHA, then they'll still have problems (as we saw with Aliyun).

  • Reply 12 of 57


    I'm sure they paid him a butt load to lure him away, it's all about the benjamins. I originally wrote pentiums and had to erase it, damn you Weird Al.

  • Reply 13 of 57


    Something is happening my friends....something very interesting. image

  • Reply 14 of 57


    So this new company he  is going to work for is going to steal from Android, what Android stole from iOS and what iOS took from Mac OS which stole from Xerox.


     


    THIS CAN GET CONFUSING.


     


    DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT SAYING THE IPHONE STOLE NECESSARILY EVERYTHING FROM MAC OS, JUST AS I'M SAYING THAT ANDROID DIDNT NECESSARILY STEAL EVERYTHING FROM iOS. NOR I AM SAYING THAT MAC OS STOLE EVERYTHING FROM XEROX.


     


    It's just a little funny observation. 

  • Reply 15 of 57
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    We've all wanted to move to China after a bad breakup. But sleep on it! Tomorrow is another day.
  • Reply 15 of 57
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    [ * glitch! * ] Double-post.
  • Reply 17 of 57

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post



    We've all wanted to move to China after a bad breakup. But sleep on it! Tomorrow is another day.


    You think he'll bring sweets on his flight?

  • Reply 18 of 57
    larryalarrya Posts: 606member
    I didn't know Yoko worked at Google
  • Reply 19 of 57
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    Given the personal drama and the (apparent) sleeping around, the fact that he is leaving could easily have nothing to do with Rubin.


     


    Therefore linking it to Rubin and Android's position at Google. would seem uncalled for.  



     


    Rubin only comes into the conversation when they say it is the 2nd high level manager to leave.  That is all.  Quote is below...


     


    "Barra's exit is the second major change to the Android team in just six months. In March, Google announced that Andy Rubin, who served as head of Android since the platform was acquired in 2005, was moving on to a "new chapter" at the company."

  • Reply 20 of 57
    So this new company he  is going to work for is going to steal from Android, what Android stole from iOS and what iOS took from Mac OS which stole from Xerox.

    THIS CAN GET CONFUSING.

    DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT SAYING THE IPHONE STOLE NECESSARILY EVERYTHING FROM MAC OS, JUST AS I'M SAYING THAT ANDROID DIDNT NECESSARILY STEAL EVERYTHING FROM iOS. NOR I AM SAYING THAT MAC OS STOLE EVERYTHING FROM XEROX.

    It's just a little funny observation. 

    Apple didn't steal anything from Xerox. They got a bunch of Apple stock that would be worth billions if they had held on to it.

    You seem to be over using the word steal. Either to force a joke or imply that stealing is just what everybody does?
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