This week, Essential's Andy Rubin previewed the company's next product, a long, narrow phone thing likely called GEM. It's intriguing, and given Rubin's pedigree — he was the mind behind Danger, Android, and the Essential Phone — it was definitely newsworthy.

But his preview, echoed by Essential itself shortly thereafter with more official-looking photos, was overshadowed by a renewed conversation around Rubin as a person and leader. In 2018, four years after leaving Google, the New York Times reported that in 2014 Rubin was accused of sexual misconduct by a Google employee with whom, until a few months earlier, he was in a consensual relationship. Google learned of the affair in early 2014 and worked with Rubin shortly thereafter to quietly leave the company, buoyed by a $90 million exit package to be paid out over two years.

In early 2015, Rubin used some of that money, along with over $300 million in seed capital, to launch Playground Global, a venture firm slash incubator slash hardware startup. Inside Playground, he launched Essential, which began work on the Essential Phone along with a number of now-dead smart home products. In the interim, Rubin quietly took a leave of absence from Essential before returning. In May of this year, he was reportedly forced to step down from Playground, though he still runs a now-independent Essential within the same building.

It's all very messy, very confusing. None of the allegations have been proven in court, and Rubin's only statement since the NYTimes article was released disavowed the reporting, claiming his accuser made "false allegations [as] part of a smear campaign to disparage me during a divorce and custody battle."

https://twitter.com/Arubin/status/1055632398509985792

It's unclear whether GEM's coordinated Twitter unveiling is the beginning of Rubin's plan to return to public life after nearly a year of silence. David Ruddock, EIC of Android Police, issued a statement shortly afterward, saying the site will no longer work with Essential's PR, nor will it accept review units, as long as Rubin is at the helm. He followed up with a more lengthy explanation on the website.

https://twitter.com/RDRv3/status/1181722451526373376

I've been thinking about whether Android Central needs to follow suit, drawing a line in the sand about working with companies led by bad actors.

It's tough, because unlike bigger corporations like Google, Facebook, Amazon, or Apple, Essential is Andy Rubin. Playground is, or at least was, Rubin. That's how the company's framed it, putting him forward as the primary actor in a tiny troupe attempting to push the tech industry forward. Breathless profiles of Rubin emerged shortly after Playground opened, positioning him as the fearless leader shepherding small companies through their incubation periods.