Earlier this year, we learned that Andy Rubin, creator of the Android operating system, has built a new company called Essential. The company was reportedly working on a “high-end smartphone with a large edge-to-edge screen that lacks a surrounding bezel.” It appears things aren’t chugging along so smoothly. From a report: Andy Rubin, a co-creator of Android, lost out on a $100 million investment from SoftBank as Apple deepened ties with the Japanese investor, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Rubin’s company, Essential Products, is reportedly planning to release a new high-end smartphone this spring, and SoftBank planned to market the phone in Japan, the Journal said. But Apple subsequently agreed to commit $1 billion to SoftBank’s Vision Fund, a move that “complicated” SoftBank’s investment in Essential Products, the Journal reported Monday. Apple did not directly block the deal, the Journal said, though Rubin’s premium phone would be released ahead of the highly anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone. The deal was “nearly complete,” sources told the Journal.
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