Adult Empire and the iPhone: A Look Back

Smartphones are now sewn snugly into the fabric of our lives. For many of us, it’s difficult to imagine a time when we didn’t have the world at our fingertips thanks to these handy little devices. The smartphone revolution all started on June 29, 2007, when Apple introduced the first model of the iPhone. While the lack of physical keyboard took some getting used to (“Third day I was ready to throw it out the window,” tech expert Walter Mossberg said on Charlie Rose at the time), it didn’t take long for smartphones to catch on. Google’s Android joined the fray in October 2008, greatly expanding the number of mobile-device offerings, and now more than 75% of Americans own a smartphone. And guess what? Plenty of the usage of these devices involves streaming good ol’ hardcore pornography. Here at Adult Empire, we’re proud of the fact that we were the very first company to offer adult content for the iPhone.

In the same week the iPhone was launched, AE announced a partnership with Digital Playground to bring porn trailers to the mobile platform. “We’re thrilled to offer the first adult content for iPhone. This is a perfect partnership for us, and we’re proud to be on board with Digital Playground,” said former co-owner Jeff Rix at the time. “It only makes sense that the first iPhone adult content is available from Digital Playground, they are always one step ahead of the game. This is a huge step forward in adult entertainment, and as time goes on I believe that the demand for mobile content will skyrocket,” then-Director of Adult Operations Mike Barry elaborated. Barry couldn’t have been more prescient — mobile viewing of porn has reshaped the industry and the way people watch adult movies. In fact, it’s as likely as not that you’re reading this article on a smartphone right now, perhaps in a detour from some XXX shopping and viewing on Adultempire.com. (We just hope you’re not doing it at a McDonald’s.) AE’s Digital Playground trailer offering was only our first step. In 2015, we launched a fully responsive website design optimized and tailored for mobile devices like the iPhone.

Interestingly, despite AE’s historical connection to the iPhone, most mobile users access Adult Empire using Android devices. In 2016, 60.4% of mobile sessions on AdultDVDEmpire.com were via Android’s operating system, versus 35.6% on iOS. (This ratio actually outpaces the iPhone’s overall smartphone market share, which is 17.9% against 81.7% for Android devices, according to TheVerge.com.)

So, toast the 10th anniversary of the iPhone by watching a classic Digital Playground trailer or two! (For extra authenticity, skip back to the DP movies released in summer 2007.)

Photo by Jordan McQueen on Unsplash