How will the halving of apr and ending of POW play a roll in getting the price up?
Less inflation due to ultra-high payouts that push up the total supply of the coin. While staking is meant to reward holders (and does), paying out too much long-term can lower prices due to increasing coin-supply. The initial higher-rewards are meant to attract and reward early buyers/investors and holders, so that's another reason it decreases as the coin becomes more popular over time.