Samsung is basically a giant manufacturing company. They make everything. From dishwashers to drilling rigs. They're excellent at it. They can do it better than anyone else and have massive resources in that respect. This means a couple things.
One, basically entire markets for all sorts of products rely in at least some capacity on their manufacuring ability. Apple doesn't manufacture. They design products and employ manufacturers to make their products. They're not a vertically integrated company in that sense. They have massive, massive manufacturing needs. There is a limited number of manufacturers in the world. When Apple launches a new product they literally cannot employ enough manufacturers to churn out enough products to meet their sales demands. When the tsunami hit Japan, manufacturers in Japan shut down. This meant Apple couldn't make enough products quickly enough to meet demand. Long story short -- Samsung is a huge manufacturer and it's basically impossible for Apple to meet its demand without employing every possible manufacturer, particularly one with the manufacuring capacity of Samsung.
Second, few companies are good at both being a manufacturer and a designer. Samsung is a hugely diversified company in terms of what they manufacture. There's almost literally not a single electronic or major equipment product that Samsung doesn't manufacture. I think this diversity has led to Samsung having an unparalleled grasp on the ability to manufacture basically anything. It's just what they do. Design is an entirely different animal. The vast majority of things that Samsung builds it does not design. It's primary business is taking designers' plans and charging designers a fee for making their product. So the question for Samsung seems to often be, if we have this incredible manufacturing advantage, why spend the money on design and engineering? The answer to this question usually is easily answered. Samsung copies all sorts of "competitors". Not just in cell phones, but in refrigerators, TVs, microwaves. Everything. They are constantly sued for this. Constantly. I'd venture they're the most sued company in the world in terms of IP litigation. They have a reputation as a company that just copies, makes a massive amount of products, and sits and waits to be sued, knowing its just part of the cost of doing business. Its a very prevalent and bad reputation. But given their manufacuring network and ability, designers simply can't live without them. So they sue them, then turn around and ask them to build their products. Samsung doesn't care. They're making money on both ends.
