A good read below -
Xiaomi's Phones Have Conquered China. Now It's Aiming for the Rest of the World
mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-04/chinas-xiaomi-the-worlds-fastest-growing-phone-maker
Xiaomi's innovation is really turning the business model upside down. Stuff like flat icons can easily be replaced with another icons pack. Theming is very common on Android with icon packs and launchers. It's not like Apple invented flat icons, translucency effects, transitional animations, and they did some copying of their own with iOS7. Closing apps is a riff from webOS but SLOWER. No close all apps button. Android even has launchers that can mimic Windows Phone. Once Material Design hits, skeumorphic or flat design won't matter anymore. Everybody copies, including the mighty Apple.
The iOS progression is very slow. Two of the top 5 best features on iOS8 has been on Android for years. I read the next iPhone 6 will have a bigger screen like 4.7/5.5 inches and maybe NFC! Wow! Revolutionary to like 12% of smartphone owners globally. A big deal. Apps can even communicate with other apps and you can now pick your default keyboard. And QuickType predicts your next words too! Maybe in a few years, iPhones will finally have TWO speakers, water/dust resistant, ability to delete photos in a synced album, delete songs, Bluetooth file transfer, pick your toggle switches, IR blaster, OTG, get read as mass storage, gesture swipes, add a back button, double tap wakeup, etc.
Maybe it is Apple's turn to do more copying instead of relying on yearly updates, app developers, and accessory makers to fill in the gaps. Not just focus on a UI flat design that can easily be mimicked by launchers and themes. It's not like ONE company can have ALL the ideas first. Baby steps, first. That's the pace Apple likes though.