Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins.
Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins.

Apple is known to many as a pioneer in the field of technological innovation, but Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins thinks otherwise.

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, the CEO praised Apple for its past innovation but said that the company is behind the times.

“History repeats itself again I guess … the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly,” Heins told AFR. “The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about, is now five years old.”

His comments come just days before Blackberry’s new flagship smartphone, the Blackberry Z10, hits shelves. Heins also said that he expects there to be 100,000 apps available in the Blackberry marketplace by the time the Z10 debuts.

Blackberry recently rebranded its company two months ago when it announced the new Z10 and Q10 smartphones.

Previously on GeekWire: Solavei is first carrier to bring new Blackberry Z10 to the U.S. for the princely price of $999

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