KATE THOMPSON DAVY: One to rule them all: the dawn of the super app
Tencent’s WeChat is a good example of an app that offers multiple functions
In 2009 Apple ran a commercial for the iPhone 3G using the slogan “there’s an app for that”, and with that it ushered in a sort of cultural moment — and a phrase that would define the early smartphone era.
The phrase predates the ad, naturally, but soon the stereotype of “tech bros” answering “there’s an app for that” to anything was a well-established trope. Verizon ran an ad with the tagline “there’s a map for that”, and even Sesame Street had a song extolling the many functions of the “iPogo”. Don’t YouTube this unless you want to find yourself involuntarily singing: “If you want to comb your cat, there’s an app for that” for the next 48 hours...
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