Is this gonna be one of those tech bandwagon things that Google fails at so consistently? You know, like Google phones, Google Plus, Google Pay, Google Stadia, Google Your Poodle, etc.
Google phones are some of the most popular in the marketplace (and their os is the most popular in the world) and Google pay works absolutely fine - I use it everyday, albeit with the new name of wallet.
I still pay with Google pay on my phone for contactless, did it literally just now. I think they just rebranded instead. Google Wallet I think it is now
Android? I think I’ve heard of it. Bunch of iPhone clones of widely varying quality. I’ve owned several of both over the years (including both original models), worked for manufacturers of both, developed software for both.. the design of the modern smartphone is based on the iPhone, which continues to be most of the best-selling smartphone models in the world. It’s great that there are options in the market, I love that. The iPhone still defines the market.
And, while I'm at it, others may be revisionists, you lack nuance.
At a surface level, you're correct the Android re-design in 2008 was primarily because of the arrival of the iPhone in '07. The reason for the re-design was the inclusion of a touch-screen in Apple's hardware spec. Apple was not the first company to introduce mobile computing handsets with touch screens; that honor goes to IBM.
Android was founded in 2003, and was looking to come into the digital camera market initially, before their acquisition by Google. Then they were looking to compete against Blackberry and Windows phones. UI design experiences have been playing off each other since the beginning.
Apple doesn't solely define the market, and people who work for them wouldn't assert that. They define their niche, which is the smarter business proposition.