Why Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s “Next Big Thing” Might Be Many Little Ones

Of course, a car owner needs to have an iPhone to enjoy these benefits. Which brings us to an important point: All of these innovations work to expand Apple’s tech ecosystem (which I wrote about here), and that’s one area where Apple excels above its competition. Apple’s ecosystem is sticky. Just ask Samsung’s president. He’s stuck in Apple’s ecosystem despite using Samsung products for work.

Innovations like these will only serve to make it stickier.

Far from alone
Apple is not alone in this type of innovation. Google is fast expanding its network as well, building out its Android platform from phones to tablets to phablets and possibly next to Chromebooks. It debuted its Nexus Q media-streaming device earlier this year, tying together the TV to Android gadgets.

Next up for Google: Appliances.

Samsung announced the launch of an Android-powered refrigerator that can help owners keep track of home inventory. At the launch in the UK, Samsung’s head of sales called appliances “a major growth area” for the Korean hardware maker.  While it’s unlikely to be a major growth area for Google anytime soon, these appliances could help to extend the company’s ecosystem and make Android stickier.

Playing catch-up
There’s another big tech company looking to expand its ecosystem: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).  It has a key piece in place to do so already in the Xbox console. The Xbox is in more than 70 million homes, and Microsoft is looking to tie the device into its handsets and Surface tablets.

But sales of both new Windows phones and Surface tablets have been disappointing. That is not encouraging for Microsoft and its ability to hang with Apple and Google in the ecosystem war.

More than one way to get stuck
Of course, Apple could surprise us all and unveil the “next big thing” any day. After all, it’s usually a few years between big innovations from Cupertino. The iPod was released in 2001, and the iPhone did not debut till 2007. It’s been only three years since the iPad was released, and we already have a mini version and a 128GB version of the tablet.

But even if that “next big thing” doesn’t happen anytime soon, investors should take into account that Apple continues to look for “next little things” as well. And those little innovations could prove important in maintaining Apple’s great advantage: stickiness.

The article Why Apple’s “Next Big Thing” Might Be Many Little Ones originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John-Erik Koslosky.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.