I believe that Apple’s enforcement of interface patents are hurting the consumer of touch screens. To use an admittedly extreme example, imagine car safety patent-hoarding by a lone automaker.
Three-point seatbelts, advanced airbags, ABS, backup cameras, etc. are not only expected features, they are all required or becoming requirements for future vehicles. The smartphone industry won’t become dangerous to consumers just because one company has exclusive interface patents, but it would make it a whole lot less convenient.
Is it a lack of imagination that makes it hard to imagine browsing maps/web/games without pinching to zoom on a Samsung… or have gestures like this become ubiquitous to the point of being completely expected throughout the industry?