Back in the early days of the iPhone, a simple novelty application captured the imagination of millions by letting users pretend to drink beer straight from their phone. The iBeer app featured a realistic animation of golden liquid pouring into a glass, complete with bubbles and a satisfying gulping sound when the device was tilted to the mouth. Launched shortly after the App Store opened in 2008, it quickly became one of the platform’s breakout hits as people shared videos of themselves “drinking” on the device. Its creator, a struggling magician named Steve Sheraton, had no idea the quirky idea would turn into a financial windfall.
Sheraton developed iBeer as a fun gag rooted in his background in magic and performance. He priced the app at $2.99 in the US market, making it an affordable impulse buy during the App Store’s infancy. Demand exploded almost immediately, turning the application into a top seller and a cultural phenomenon among early iPhone owners. At its peak, the app generated staggering daily revenue that left even its developer astonished by the influx of money.
The earnings figures were eye-opening. Sheraton revealed that during the height of its popularity, iBeer brought in up to $20,000 per day from sales alone. Some accounts from the time suggested peaks as high as $30,000 daily when momentum was strongest. Before the official App Store existed, an earlier version available through iTunes downloads earned him around $2,000 a day, but the shift to the App Store multiplied that income dramatically. Overall, the application amassed millions in total revenue, establishing Sheraton as one of the early App Store success stories.
Success came with its own set of surprises and challenges. Sheraton described the sudden wealth as overwhelming, with cash flowing in at an unprecedented rate for someone previously scraping by as a performer. “The amount of money that was coming in was just so over-the-top,” he later reflected in interviews about the experience. The viral nature of the app meant constant attention, including outreach from Apple itself, which highlighted its role in showcasing what the young App Store could achieve. Despite the windfall, Sheraton eventually stepped away from the spotlight, trading the digital world for a quieter life on a farm.
The iBeer phenomenon highlighted how novelty apps could thrive in the App Store’s formative years. Millions of downloads occurred, with one milestone celebrating around 90 million pours by 2014. Users loved the absurdity of simulating beer consumption in social settings, often filming reactions for sharing online. Competitors soon emerged with similar pouring-liquid concepts for other drinks, but iBeer remained the original that set the trend.
This kind of early viral app success demonstrated the unpredictable power of simple ideas in the mobile ecosystem. Developers worldwide took notice, seeing that creativity and timing could lead to extraordinary results without massive teams or budgets. The story also showed the fleeting side of such hits, as newer apps and changing user tastes eventually reduced its dominance.
Today, iBeer stands as a nostalgic reminder of the App Store’s wild early period when fun gimmicks could outpace more serious utilities.
What are your memories of the iBeer app or other early novelty hits from the App Store days, share your thoughts in the comments.
The iBeer application belongs to a broader category of early mobile entertainment known as “fart apps” or simulation novelties that mimicked real-world actions through phone sensors. These programs relied heavily on the iPhone’s accelerometer for tilt-based interactions and audio playback for immersive effects. Such apps played a key role in popularizing the App Store by attracting casual users who might not have downloaded more complex software. They also sparked discussions about app quality standards and the balance between utility and pure amusement in digital marketplaces. Over time, stricter guidelines and evolving trends shifted focus toward productivity and social tools, but the legacy of these playful creations endures in app culture history.
