This iPhone Designer Says No More Screens

In June 2016, Tony Fadell, the chief executive officer of Nest and one of the most important hardware executives of his generation, announced that he was leaving his smart-home company’s parent, Alphabet Inc. That wasn’t entirely shocking: Alphabet’s creation in 2015, as a holding company that formally separated Google’s search business from its “other bets,” had led to tension throughout those properties. Fadell, famous for creating Apple Inc.’s original iPod and iPhone prototypes, had sold Nest to Google in 2014 for $3.2 billion on the strength of an internet-connected thermostat. He didn’t need to stick around.

The engineer’s next move was more of a surprise. He didn’t just leave Alphabet; he left Silicon Valley and relocated to Paris. In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek 10 years after the iPhone’s release, Fadell, 48, explained his reasons for leaving and why he thinks “the next iPhone” won’t be a phone at all.