Not gonna lie, this ending kinda bothers me.
I think most would agree that Samsung has made 10's of billions in profits already because of things they stole from Apple. They also have the potential to make hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions, in future profits because of this theft. The timing of the theft was at such a critical time in the maturity of the market that the value here is truly massive. Samsung successfully connived their way into a leadership position.
I know many of you will think this is utterly ridiculous but I don't think a ruling in the realm of 20+ billion in damages would have been out of line here. In fact, it may have still been worth it for Samsung to willfully infringe even paying that much.
The most amazing thing to me is that Android fans will defend this when it's hurt the other Android vendors even more than its hurt Apple. Samsungs tactics have basically killed companies like HTC, Motorola, and LG. They have killed the variety and choice that is the greatest strength of Android. Weird that people who "hate the iPhone" are unanimously choosing Samsung (the closest thing to iOS that Android has to offer).
Now don't get me wrong. I think at this point Samsung has, to some extent, been able to differentiate itself. That being said, the stealing at such a crucial time, the marketshare gained at such a crucial time, and more importantly the mindshare gained at such a crucial time, has created value well beyond anything they had to pay in court. Basically Samsungs immoral strategy worked and it kinda bums me out.