It's not that Samsung n' co is copying Apple, it's that Apple is making the right design and tech choices for the right reasons and Samsung is figuring this out too and making the same choices.
Samsung has led the way in many respects. Higher refresh displays, multiple cameras, always-on displays, in-screen fingerprint readers, much larger phones, etc.
Doesn't this just come down to them being able to put emerging technology in their devices faster due to not having the same insane supply requirements that apple has?
I think it has more to do with the fact that better and more innovative hardware is the only way Samsung can differentiate from other Android vendors and that they don't have the sticky ecosystem that Apple has so they need people to keep upgrading.
