Andy Rubin has stepped down as the executive in charge of Android, the world’s top selling mobile operating system. Google has appointed Sundar Pichai, who oversees the Chrome web browser and applications like Google Drive and Gmail, to take over Rubin’s responsibilities. Andy Rubin was the architect of Android and his sudden decision to resign after a successful seven year reign has given rise to many questions regarding the company’s outlook towards the merging of mobile software divisions.
Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page posted on their blog that Rubin wished to work on something else after having devoted many years to the development of Android. Rubin is a former employee of Apple, who created Android as a start up that was later bought by Google. The details of Rubin’s new role have not been disclosed but some analysts speculate that he might work on one of the company’s popular budding projects like Glass or the self driving car. Android was built by Rubin and his team as open source software that could be modified by developers. Google has also encouraged the operating system to mobile manufacturers, content with the profits from the advertising sold on the Google services built into the software. This is in contrast to Apple’s iOS, which is available only on the iPhone and the iPad manufactured by the company itself.
On the other hand, Pichai, a senior Vice President at Google, has been highly efficient with the work he has handled over the past. Chrome browser, which developed under Pichai’s supervision, boasts of a 35% market share and his other cloud based projects like Calendar, Gmail and Google Drive have been highly successful. Page had mentioned in the blog post that though it is difficult to follow the footsteps of Rubin, he would do a tremendous job ‘doubling down’ on Android to push the ecosystem forward.
Pichai’s recent unveiling of Chromebook Pixel, the first Chrome-based laptop with touch-screen interface had many analysts suggesting that Chrome and Android appeared to be on converging paths. Microsoft has already come up with Windows 8 that is designed for both touch enabled desktop devices as well as smartphones. As Android has been widely accepted throughout the world with almost two thirds of the total smartphones running on it, Google may turn its focus towards laptops and other forms of mobile devices in the future.
