Long before everyone had a live cams site in their pocket, Babestation was already having a go at getting onto the iPhone. I recently came across an old YouTube review from around 16 years ago showing something I’d completely forgotten about: the Babestation Sexy Presents iPhone app. And honestly, it’s a brilliant little piece of Babestation history.
The video shows the app, the menus, the screenshots and the hot babes featured on it. It’s very much a product of its time, but what makes it interesting is just how early Babestation was trying to move away from the TV and onto people’s phones.
Back then, the iPhone was still relatively new and the App Store was nothing like it is now. Apps were exciting. Everyone was downloading things just to see what they did. Brands were still trying to work out what having an app actually meant. Babestation was already experimenting with it.
Babestation Before Everyone Lived On Their Phones
It’s easy to forget just how different things were 16 years ago. Now, if someone wants to watch a cam show, look at a model’s profile or chat to someone, they can do it from their phone in seconds. Most people barely think about it. But back then, adult entertainment was still very much associated with the TV, websites and phone lines.
Babestation had already built its brand around interaction. There were the TV shows, phone lines, texts and the whole idea that you could actually interact with the girls rather than just sit there watching. So putting Babestation onto an iPhone actually made perfect sense.
The phone was becoming more personal, and Babestation was trying to make the experience more personal too. Looking at the old app now, it’s quite funny because it seems so basic compared with what we have today. But at the time, having Babestation sitting on your iPhone must have felt pretty novel.
The App Apparently Took Off Pretty Quickly
From what’s been reported about the app, it did pretty well after launching and quickly climbed the App Store charts. You can see why – the hot babes with big tits might’ve had something to do with it. At the time, there weren’t thousands of adult creators with their own apps, social media accounts and websites. A well-known adult entertainment brand appearing on the App Store was going to get people’s attention, and there was also the novelty of it. It was Babestation, but on your iPhone.
The old review really captures that. You can see the screenshots, the model images and the way everything was presented. It feels incredibly dated now, but that’s exactly what makes it interesting. Babestation was basically testing the idea that its audience didn’t have to be sitting in front of the television anymore. They could take the experience with them.
Then Apple Removed It
Unfortunately for Babestation, there was one fairly major problem – Apple! The App Store has always had pretty strict rules around sexual content, and those rules became increasingly difficult for adult-focused apps to get around. So while the Babestation app might have been popular, that didn’t necessarily mean Apple was going to let it stay.
Apparently, it only lasted around a month before being removed, and that’s probably one of those moments that looked like a setback at the time but is actually quite interesting looking back. Babestation had spotted where things were going. The technology was moving towards mobile, people were becoming more comfortable using their phones for everything and the audience was getting used to having entertainment available whenever they wanted it. The problem was that Apple wasn’t necessarily going to let Babestation come along for the ride.
The Old YouTube Video Is A Brilliant Time Capsule
This is probably my favourite part of the whole thing. The old YouTube review is basically a little time capsule. You can see exactly what the app looked like, what the menus were like and how adult entertainment was being presented on an iPhone at the time. It also reminds you how different the internet felt back then.
YouTube reviews were much more casual. Smartphones were still exciting. Apps were still a relatively new thing. Nobody knew exactly how big mobile entertainment was going to become, and adult brands were trying to work out where they fitted into all of it. Babestation was clearly willing to give it a go.
Babestation Was Early To Mobile
The interesting thing isn’t really that Apple removed the app. It’s that Babestation was trying to do this in the first place. Babestation understood that the relationship between the viewer and the brand was changing. People didn’t just want to watch something at a set time on the television. They wanted access when they wanted it, and they wanted something more personal.
That is basically what modern live cam platforms are built around. Obviously, technology is completely different now. The websites are better, phones are better and the whole adult industry has changed massively, but the basic idea hasn’t really changed. Put the girls in front of the viewer and make it as easy as possible for them to interact.
From A Lost iPhone App To Babestation Cams
Babestation doesn’t need that old iPhone app anymore. Everything the app was trying to achieve can now be done through a mobile browser.
Fans can browse live cams models, watch live shows, interact and access the platform from pretty much anywhere. And that’s what makes the old app so interesting. It was an early attempt at something that eventually became completely normal. The app disappeared, but the idea behind it didn’t.
Looking back at that old YouTube video now, it’s actually quite impressive that Babestation was experimenting with mobile this early. 16 years later, the app looks very dated and slightly ridiculous by today’s standards, but it was also ahead of its time. Babestation had already started thinking beyond the TV screen and towards the phone in your hand.
Apple may have killed the app off, but they couldn’t really stop where the industry was heading.
