The App Store is a mobile app store platform created and maintained by Apple Incorporated for its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. Users can browse and download approved apps developed with Apple’s iOS Software Development Kit from the App Store, but did you know that one app made $20,000 per day from App Store downloads?
When the App Store first appeared, a developer devised “iBeer,” a way to drink alcohol without getting a headache from your iPhone. In 2008, The iPhone software “iBeer” generated $20,000 worth of downloads each day.
How Did “iBeer” Start?
An early app that made the iPhone appear to be able to pour beer from it proved highly profitable, but the pressures of mass popularity forced creator Steve Sheraton to leave.
When the App Store debuted in 2008, it was a simpler time. However, unlike most novelty apps, such as fart noise apps, iBeer lasted much longer.
According to a new Mel magazine interview with its magician creator, it also started long before the App Store was invented.
I built the very first iteration of this mechanism for the Palm Pilot called E-spresso, which turned the little monochrome screen into a cup of coffee but because it didn’t have an accelerometer, I just made it a video that you could time with your drinking motion.
Steve Sheraton, Creator of iBeer
Sheraton made another video ten years later, this time for the iPhone. Even though the then-new iPhone had an accelerometer and a vibrant color screen, Apple did not initially intend to launch an App Store.
Sheraton created a new video with beer, and users had to time their actions to match the video. He created it as a YouTube video while dead broke, just trying to get by, it received millions of views.
He remade that video as a downloadable iTunes video and sold it for $2.99 on the iTunes Store.
It was just a little video file that people had to hardwire in and download via iTunes, but I probably made around $2,000 a day for the longest time from that.
Steve Sheraton, Creator of iBeer
The App Store was still closed, but Apple looked for developers to showcase the iPhone’s capabilities. They saw Sheraton’s video and encouraged him to make it into an app. (Source: Apple Insider)
The Financial Success of iBeer
Being at the top of the App Store charts is still something that developers strive for, but there was a lot of money to be made in the early days.
The amount of money was just so over-the-top for Sheraton and the Hottrix company he founded.
During our heyday, we were making $10,000 to $20,000 a day. But 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.
Steve Sheraton, Creator of iBeer
Sheraton sued the developer after Coors Brewing Company released an almost identical app called iPint. Sheraton withdrew due to legal pressures and the overall stress of the operation.
As a magician, I liked creating and inventing the act, but repeatedly performing it just kinda killed me. The app was similar creating it and bringing it to the top was great fun, but then I had to move on and do something else.
Steve Sheraton, Creator of iBeer
Today iBeer is owned by Sheraton’s old Hottrix company, while Sheraton himself resides on a farm in Spain. He develops magic-related apps.
(Source: Apple Insider)