I wouldn't dismiss them as copycats since Samsung has good technology. They're also closer to the manufacturing side than Apple. However, they're also spread across all kinds of products. They'll eventually fall into the same trap as Japan. Korean demographics is in a good place right now too, right before low fertility rears its ugly head. They are trying to avoid Japanese mistakes but it's hard to outclass your inspiration or really invent something revolutionary.

This is what makes smartphone exciting, the race to advance technology for high stakes.