Ahh, there is nothing like a bit of nostalgia, and who’d have thought that those early days of the iPhone would at some point hit us with a big old hammer of the feels with the iBeer app. The noughties were simpler times, and the start of the iPhone journey blew our little minds.
We all knew someone with an iPhone that had the iBeer app in the early days of that and the hilarious fun that could be had with such a novelty. But, who knew that this simple app was earning its creator £15,000 a day? Crazy, right?
The app was created by a struggling magician called Steve Sheraton, which was originally a video you had to time your drinking motion with, but Apple loved the app so much that they asked Sheraton to develop a version that would show off the phone’s accelerometer.
In the new version, when you shook the phone, the beer would move around like it was being swilled. When the phone holder pretended to drink, it then it would disappear. The best-selling app earned its owner a lot of money, priced at $2.99, the app sold in millions.
Speaking to MEL magazine, he said: “We shot to first place [in the App Store] on the very first day and stayed there for about a year.
“Apart from its visual humour and sort of appealing to the lowest common denominator, iBeer was a large success because it allowed people to show their friends what the phone was capable of.
“The amount of money that was coming in was just so over-the-top. During our heyday, we were making $10,000 to $20,000 a day.
There were darker moments for Sheardon, who struggled with alcoholism. Discussing it he said: “The app’s sudden massive popularity and that lifestyle – coupled with all the publicity and stress that comes with it – is an avalanche that can destroy people.”
“When you have a problem with alcohol, all those problems are exacerbated.”
As with all things, the iBeer app fizzle out and Sheraton sold his company Hottrix and moved to spain with his family where he creates mobile apps for magicians.
For a hit of nostalgia, check it out below:
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