How Steve Jobs took revenge on the creator of the iPod during a keynote and how he repaid him by going to work at Google

oriXone

How Steve Jobs took revenge on the creator of the iPod during a keynote and how he repaid him by going to work at Google

creator, Google, iPod, Jobs, keynote, repaid, Revenge, Steve, work

The life of Steve Jobs is full of anecdotes. From the eight years it took him to decide which couch was his, to the way he conducted job interviews. Today we highlight one of the most memorable moments They went unnoticed during the Keynote in which the original iPhone was presented.

The iPhone had several different prototypes and Steve Jobs was very demanding

We go back years to the introduction of the original iPhone. Steve Jobs tasked several different teams with developing a phone which played music and was also connected to the Internet. The outcome we all know about now is the iPhone, but other teams have made different proposals to Jobs.

iPhone prototype based on the iPod
iPhone prototype based on the iPod

iPhone prototype based on the iPod

One of these teams was managed by Tony Fadell. Known as the father of the iPhone, I had many chances to succeed with everything I learned with the famous Apple player. His concept was an iPod with a digital keyboard and a rear camera. Something that differs a bit from the final iPhone concept. The months passed and Ultimately, this project to convert an iPod to iPhone was abandoned.

A small gesture by Steve Jobs in the iPhone demo triggered his end at Apple

During the Keynote where Steve Jobs showed the iPhone to the world, there was an action that went unnoticed for many. While Steve Jobs was teaching the Phone application, he entered the favorite contacts tab. There was Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue… All well-known names within Apple, and of course Tony Fadell was there too.

Steve Jobs removed Tony Fadell's name
Steve Jobs removed Tony Fadell's name

Steve Jobs removed Tony Fadell’s name

During a demonstration of how the touchscreen, interface, etc. worked, he started removing a contact from that favorites group. And if, Tony Fadell was chosen by Steve Jobs to disappear from his contacts. Chance? Joke? An intentional act? If there’s a reason we know Steve Jobs well, it’s because he left nothing to chance.

Tony and Steve’s relationship had become increasingly strained. And nothing can be improvised regarding the iPhone Keynote. In January 2007, iPhone OS was still buggy and incomplete, so nothing remained in the air. There was a risk that pressing a button would cause the operating system to crash.

The best film about Apple and Steve Jobs is without a doubt.  This is what I think after 18 years of talking about the brand

From creating the iPod to leaving Apple and eventually working at Google

It wasn’t until 2010 that Tony Fadell made the decision to leave Apple. The success of the iPhone was growing, the iPhone 4 was about to be presented and Tony Fadell felt he was no longer a relevant person in the company. Fadell set out, and after a problem with his house’s thermostat, created the company Nestcompany specializing in home automation until its final acquisition by Google in 2014.

In Applesfera | What happened to Tony Fadell, the ‘father of the iPod’ who ended up designing products for Google

In Applesfera | Steve Jobs wanted to make the iPod an iPhone. Putting a numeric keypad on the back wasn’t that crazy

Leave a Comment