Will Apple Get More Popular?
Apple. It is a word that reminds people either of the fruit or the first U.S. company to be valued over $700 billion. Recently, Apple is rumored to be in talks with banks to set up a virtual money transferring app that is integrated into the phone. This makes sense because of the huge popularity of the current app, Venmo, that facilitates this process. For example, Venmo processed more than $2.4 billion in virtual payments in 2014. While Apple could be wanting to gain a share of that, they might be also trying to increase its popularity.
Venmo is popular for splitting the costs of meals, taxis, and gifts via phones. This makes peer to peer payment really convenient; paying back individuals is a lot easier digitally than in cash. If Apple can harness this ease of use and make it inherent in its phones, it will make its phones more convenient to use, and therefore, more popular. This consumer friendly application will be seen in anyone who owns an iPhone. People who do not own iPhones will see that in friends or colleagues who do have iPhones, and be more interested in purchasing one.
This is the “rich-get-richer” rule. The probability that something or someone gets an increase in popularity is directly proportional to its current popularity. If Apple increases its popularity by making better products, the company increases its probability of people using its products. The more well-known Apple is, the more likely people will see others using its products, and hence the more likely people will end up buying merchandise from Apple.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34803074