The Cult of Macintosh 

Campbell and La Pastina (2010) mentioned the concept of a cult following of Macintosh. This cult included three myths: the creation myth, the hero myth (saving users from the reign of the PC) and the resurrection myth. This cult following idolizes Steve Jobs as a "Christ figure". This type of "cult" follows the pattern more of a para-religion than a traditional religion. Much as celebrity culture and "celebrity worship" can be identified as para-religions as they draw many parallels with traditional religions. This includes the idea of higher beings, myths, a separation of the profane and sacred, totemic and symbolic elements, religion as a cultural system, death and resurrection, etc. (Ward, 2011). This all seems relatively similar to the idea of an "Apple" cult. I think even more so than celebrity worship. 

Apple/Macintosh worship has myths (mentioned above), the idea of spiritual higher beings (e.g. the transcendence of technology), the difference between profane (PC-associated) and sacred (Apple-associated), obvious symbols, the technology of Apple associating with almost every aspect of life (social, cultural, etc. The possession of an Apple product shows status), religious congregations (the release of new Apple products), and the list goes on. Apple permeates every aspect of modern life, especially in the Western world. I find myself interacting with people who own Apple products more so than people who affiliate with religion.

It appears that such thorough para-religions are forming in the 21st Century that are coming closer and closer to the idea of a traditional religion. Yet the fact that we need traditional religions as step-ups to understanding the divine, the sacred, and the profane (e.g. associating the iPhone upon its release with images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and not as a stand alone divine creation), means traditional religion will continue to act as the foundation of any new religious movements. 

References:

Ward, P. 2011. Gods behaving badly: Media, religion and celebrity culture. London: SCM Press. Ch 3: Para-Religion

Campbell, H. A., & La Pastina, A. C. (2010). How the iPhone became divine: new media, religion and the intertextual circulation of meaning.  New Media and Society, 12: 1191-1207. doi: 10.1177/1461444810362204.