TONY FADELL: Google Is Building The Technology We Will Need For The Next 5-10 Years

He's also had a very nice second act, which could ultimately outshine his time at Apple. He founded Nest, a company that makes Internet-connected thermostats and smoke/carbon monoxide detectors. He sold Nest to Google for $3.2 billion last year.

He did an interview with The Sunday Times that's behind a paywall, so we haven't been able to read it. Rob Richman wrote up some of the quotes.

"I don't know what Apple is working on. When I looked at the technology we are going to need 5-10 years from now, who has that and who is building it, it is Google," said Fadell.

Google just cut him a big check, so he's naturally going to be a believer in Google. Still, it's interesting to see him say this. Google is strong in web services. Apple is not. In the future, as web services increase in importance, there is widespread belief that Google will benefit.

Speaking of the big check from Google. Fadell says, "This was not a financially driven transaction. When you marry for money, it almost never works. We both believe we have something special and we know what it takes to make it happen around the world."