iPod father left Apple on bad terms, reportedly didn’t get along with Jony Ive

Jan 14, 2014 08:55 GMT  ·  By

Apple’s top brass wasn’t exactly the happiest of families under Steve Jobs’ leadership, an aspect that got “leaked” out soon after the visionary genius passed away at the hand of pancreatic cancer.

As soon as Tim Cook took over, the executive ranks were in turmoil. It felt like a coup d'état, a putsch, an overthrow. It was then that the world realized that some of the biggest names inside Apple were actually enemies.

But recent developments indicate that things had been taking a turn for the worse years before Apple lost Jobs.

As fans will remember, in 2008 Apple had to let Tony Fadell go. One of the key figures involving the creation of the first iPod, Fadell said at the time that he was leaving to take a break and spend more time with the family.

But he actually went and built Nest, a company that develops and sells home appliances, such as this Smart Thermostat. So much for resting and spending time with the kids.

Tony Fadell proudly holding the Nest Smart Thermostat
Tony Fadell proudly holding the Nest Smart Thermostat

According to a book by Leander Kanhey, Fadell was actually sidelined and got paid millions to leave Apple. The reason? He wasn't getting along with some of his colleagues, including Scott Forstall and Jony Ive (both key figures at Apple and both Steve Jobs protégés).

“Tony got canned [...] He was paid off with his salary for a number of years plus so many millions to leave. Tony was canned because he was battling with Jony. He went to Steve so many times bitching about Jony, but Steve had such a tremendous amount of respect for Jony and their relationship that he sided with Jony not Tony,” Kahney writes in his book, “Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products.”

Now Google is interested in Nest. So much so that they’ve actually put out a press release announcing plans to buy the company, along with Fadell and his team of engineers. And everyone is in shock because Apple isn’t the one to buy Fadell (and his work) back.

Who says Fadell was selling to the highest bidder, and who says Apple was pitching in the first place? Don’t they have like an iWatch and a television to build, or something?

Disclaimer

This is a Personal Thoughts piece reflecting the author’s personal opinion on matters relating to Apple and / or the products associated with the Apple brand. This article should not be taken as the official stance of Softpedia on Apple-related matters.

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Tony Fadell proudly holding the Nest Smart Thermostat
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