This will indeed change the course of Gadget and User Interface Design in the coming future..
http://gizmodo.com/5937762/samsung-vs-apple-apple-winning-big-updatingIn fairness Apple didnt include the overall UI of the Android Operating System (altho I think they are next) since this win against Samsung only made Apple believe that "they have a chance" to win over those who board their "Innovation Bus" and ride to a "free sucess".
With this I believe that it will be eventually
GOOD FOR CONSUMERS and will be
BAD FOR APPLE in the long run as this will make other companies
"Innovate" and
"not copy" their next products, this will give the consumers
"choice" and will create a far larger scale of
"Product Social Diversion" which will not be based on
"trending" or
"techno pressure" but solely on
"originality" and "taste" that will again bring back the power to the consumers and NOT the companies that made the products.
Windows 8 UI is at the forefront of innovation right now, as it is far more different that Apple's famed User Interface approach.. Microsoft has made their UI (formerly codenamed "Metro") different and can be translated into another kind of "user experience".. right now it is still gaining ground as users are still
"into" the Apple-type of user experience and the way iOS has made mobile computing the "hottest way" of mobile interaction.
But its just a matter of time before consumers get tired of it and eventually look for another
Innovative Product.