Google’s Hugo Barra is leaving for Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi (creators of MIUI)
The world is feeling a little upside down tonight. According to a report from All Things D, Google’s Hugo Barra will resign from his position as vice president of product management for Android, and in a stranger twist, will be start work for Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi (makers of the MIUI phone).
The fun doesn’t stop there. ATD also mentions a love triangle behind the scenes that, while unrelated to the move, involved Barra and a fetching young Google employee who is now seeing Sergey Brin (who recently split from his wife of 6 years). It was back in March that we saw Android founder Andy Rubin resign from his position at Google, although he reportedly has remained with the company.
While at first this sounds like more bad news for Google, we’re sure they’ll find a worthy replacement. Also, we’re wondering what this move might suggest for Xiaomi and their MIUI phones, which have reportedly been dominating China. Could this be a sign of MIUI devices launching internationally? Suddenly, Android just got a little more interesting.
UPDATE: The information has been confirmed, in a Google+ post titled “A New Android Chapter,” Hugo said:
In a few weeks, I’ll be joining the Xiaomi team in China to help them expand their incredible product portfolio and business globally — as Vice President, Xiaomi Global. I’m really looking forward to this new challenge, and am particularly excited about the opportunity to continue to help drive the Android ecosystem.
+Android team, I will truly miss you all!