Just months after the BlackBerry Z10 release date, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has criticised Apple, suggesting that the iPhone is ‘outdated’.
Despite suggesting that Apple helped shape what has become the current smartphone market through its line of flagship phones, Heins has claimed that the Cupertino based company has now fallen behind the crowd having become complacent in its success.
Speaking with the Australian Financial Review, Heins, who formally unveiled the new BlackBerry 10 operating system alongside the BlackBerry Z10 back on January 30, stated that “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.”
Paying Apple a backhanded compliment of sorts, Heins suggested that although the iPhone changed the game, it has failed to keep pace with the new competition.
“Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market,” the BlackBerry CEO suggested. “They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon. There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that.”
Despite this prise he added: “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. The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now five years old.”
With the BlackBerry 10 rollout set to hit the US later this week, Heins suggested that unlike Apple, BlackBerry has continued to innovate and is looking to push the smartphone sector to the next level.
“The point is that you can never stand still,” he said. “It is true for us as well. Launching BB10 just put us on the starting grid of the wider mobile computing grand prix, and now we need to win it.”
Having launched in the UK in late January with a catalogue of 70,000 BlackBerry 10 apps, Heins has hinted that the company is still on target to expand to its 100,000 BlackBerry 10 app goal by the platform’s imminent US launch.
Although having been knocked for not hosting the same collection of recognisable, big-name applications as its Apple iOS and Google Android rivals, Heins, of the BB10 app collection added: “We are working constantly on getting these important apps on board.”
Do you feel that the iPhone and iOS operating system is now outdated and lagging behind the competition or is Apple still an industry leader in your eyes? Let us know via the TrustedReviews Twitter and Facebook feeds or through the comment boxes below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
