I couldn't disagree more. To just casually mention Google Now as a throw in is laughable to say the least. It just won the best everyday utility award
Google Now wins grand prize for 'best everyday utility' at 2013 UX awards | Android Central as well as innovation of the year on Popular science
Popular Science picks Google Now as the Innovation of the Year | Android Central. These are major awards.
The irony is that you don't think that widgets would make iOS better, but now that I have 2 iPhone 5's in my household I am on the direct receiving end of features that are lacking on these phones. The most important is a toggle widget. iOS6 has wifi problems so I have to constantly ask my kids to go in and turn off data. It's a major pain for a 13 year old to have to not only do this but to remember to do it all the time. So now that something like this has been added in iOS7 it is a big positive.
Innovation is how your device allows you to better use the phone. Samsung chose to add in more gesture controls and hover commands etc. this is innovative. It may not be something for everyone, but neither is Siri or a camera for that matter. It's about how we are able to adapt to the broader uses that are available. A chainsaw can be used to cut down trees or to carve out something artistically amazing. But if Apple doesn't provide a chainsaw then there is no option. You have to agree that simple widgets like these open up tons of possibilities for innovative ideas and features to happen. Some are big, some are small. Things like Zooper widget, UCCW, Dashclock etc. are smart utilities that are all innovative in their own right that are only available because of Androids open environment. We are so used to seeing them on Android by the boatload that we don't put nearly as much weight on them as innovation. Apple comes out with something and hard codes it into the system and it's heralded as amazing when it doesn't even allow customization at all. I can add power toggles, data and wifi usage reports and many other things to my notification shade with a host of different options and make it exactly how I like it. Ironically I prefer to have a toggle widget on my main home screen instead of the notification shade. I removed it from there which allows more room for notifications. Apple puts in stock reports into the default notifications.... hmm really useful to 90% of the population.