Tech History: The Sunday Morning Call When Steve Jobs Challenged Google Over Its Yellow ‘O’

Great people become great not by chance, but through attention to detail—and a story from Steve Jobs’ life perfectly illustrates this. Despite being the CEO of Apple, Jobs was known for obsessing over the smallest details. In one memorable incident, he reportedly called a senior Google executive on a Sunday morning just to correct the yellow color in Google’s logo. Here’s what happened next.

Steve Fixes Google’s Logo
Steve Jobs is remembered not only as a CEO but as a master of technology and design. Known as a perfectionist, he scrutinized every detail. One story that has circulated widely online dates back to 2008, shortly after the iPhone’s launch. According to Vik Gundotra, former Vice President at Google, Jobs called him one Sunday morning in January 2008 regarding what he described as an urgent issue.

Initially, Gundotra assumed a serious technical problem had arisen. However, Jobs’ concern was surprising: he was unhappy with the yellow shade of the second ‘O’ in Google’s logo on the iPhone and wanted it corrected. Jobs even offered to have his own team fix the issue, asking Gundotra if he had any objections. Gundotra recalls being astonished that a CEO could be so concerned about the color of a single letter—but that attention to detail was exactly what set Jobs apart.

Today, Google’s logo continues to reflect the yellow shade suggested by Jobs, though the brand later updated its logo design for Chrome and other products.

Attention to Detail as the Path to Success
This anecdote highlights Jobs’ philosophy: perfection in small things leads to excellence in the big picture. In a 2004 interview, he explained that innovation often arises from hallway conversations or even late-night calls, and not just from grand ideas. Gundotra notes that Jobs’ focus on small details was a valuable lesson: a CEO must care about even the tiniest aspects—like a Sunday-morning call about a yellow color—to achieve greatness.

A Visionary’s Legacy
Steve Jobs’ impact on the tech world remains unparalleled. Unlike other tech leaders such as Bill Gates, Jobs approached technology as an artist, shaping every pixel with precision. He passed away on 5 October 2011, after a long battle with cancer, at the age of 56. Yet, that Sunday call continues to serve as a lasting example in the tech industry: greatness is built on meticulous attention to the smallest details.