Marques Brownlee has responded to criticism leveled against his expensive subscription-based wallpaper app Panels. The well-known tech YouTuber promised to address some of the concerns raised by his followers after his product – an app where users pay an annual fee of $49.99 to access high-resolution wallpapers – faced heavy criticism online.
Who is Marques Brownlee?
Marques Brownlee, often known as MKBHD, is a popular American tech YouTuber. He is known for his in-depth tech reviews, especially on consumer electronics such as smartphones, laptops, and gadgets.
With 20 million YouTube subscribers, Brownlee plays a key role in influencing people's decisions when it comes to buying electronics. In fact, he has even been blamed for harming companies and products with his negative reviews, as was the case recently with the Humane AI Pin.
What is a panel?
Panels is a wallpaper app that allows its subscribers to access a selection of “stunning full resolution wallpapers” from digital artists. The app, launched by Brownlee on Monday, is quite expensive – it costs $49.99 per year for a Panels Plus subscription. Users can also opt for a monthly subscription plan for $11.99 per month.
Users who subscribe will be able to download the wallpapers in full resolution. People can also use the app for free – however they will then be able to download lower resolution images and will have to watch two ads.
Why the criticism against the panel?
Brownlee announced his new app as part of his iPhone 16 review on Monday. By Tuesday, social media was abuzz with criticism against the wallpaper app, with some calling it a money grab and others raising concerns about data privacy.
Most critics were surprised that such a product came from Marques Brownlee, who has built a reputation for his well-researched insights into the latest tech releases.
“It's hard to understand how someone would spend so many years building a reputation in tech and then suddenly ruin it all by releasing some ad-spamming, location-tracking, $11.99-a-month wallpaper garbage,” one person wrote on X. What happened?
“Imagine having a large enough audience to implement any idea you want, and then you come across a subscription-based wallpaper app,” wrote another.
Much of the criticism was about the cost of the subscription, with users stating that people did not want to pay $50 for a wallpaper. However, some praised MKBHD for supporting digital artists, at a time when generative AI artwork is on the rise.
Brownlee's response to criticism
Marques Brownlee reacts to social media platform X. He notes two major points of criticism – pricing and concerns about data privacy.
According to TechCrunch, multiple people reported that the Panels app can track users' location, usage data, and other personal identifications across apps and websites.
“The first thing we’re doing is fixing the excessive data disclosure, as people have rightly raised. For the sake of transparency, we would never actually ask for your location, internet history, etc. The data disclosure (which everyone is taking screenshots of) is probably too broad, and largely based on what the ad networks suggest. Work is being done to fix this as quickly as possible,” Brownlee said.
The American YouTuber said he is working on a plan to reduce ads on the app.
“As far as the price goes, I hear you! It's our own personal challenge to work on providing that kind of value for the premium version. (Weekly Friday drops are already starting) I'll also be reducing ad frequency for the free experience,” he posted.
Brawley acknowledged that the target market for a subscription-based wallpaper app is “extremely small.”