Funny then how a new player like OnePlus One (oneplus.net) can come along a create a brilliant 5.5" 64GB phone with a sensible 13mp 2.0f camera for 300 euros that beats all other Android phones on price and POSSIBLY hardware and software features. And it sure gives the new iPhone 6 Pro a good spanking too at nearly 1/3 the cost.
So as long as there are good engineers that can respond to customer needs, small players will always exist.
Samsung make good hardware, but are completely incompetent at software. I got so annoyed with my Samsung S5, I give it away last week and got a OnePlus One instead.
Best bit about OnePlus One for me is its sensible OS - Android mod CyanogenMod. It's easy to use and customize, contains no crap apps, and its settings permit control over application permissions using Privacy Guard - Google Android would never allow that.
Can wait until someone brings out a dual boot smartphone (Android and Ubuntu). Then I can use it at work for Java enterprise development, and retire the MacBook Pro :-)
Just my two cents.