EghtesadOnline: During a recent outing to a fancy restaurant, Andy Rubin spotted an all-too-familiar tableau: a couple on what seemed to be a first date taking pictures of their food and then losing themselves in their smartphones for the next 10 minutes. Rubin is partly responsible for this antisocial behavior; he helped create Android, which powers 85 percent of the world’s smartphones.

EghtesadOnline: Andy Rubin created the software that powers hundreds of millions of Android devices around the world. Now he has two gadgets of his own: the Essential Phone and the Essential Home.

EghtesadOnline: Just over two years after leaving Google, Andy Rubin is preparing to take on the smartphone industry he helped create.