I don't see that implication. I mean, the article is basically Google taking credit for going back to user interface design principles that Apple pioneered 12 y

I don't see that implication. I mean, the article is basically Google taking credit for going back to user interface design principles that Apple pioneered 12 years ago; whether Apple got its kudos back then has no bearing on whether Google's disingenuously backtracking on some of the major design features of Android's HIG and much of what makes the Material design … well, Material.