Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) has stepped out of the critic role and into the builder mindset. This week, he released a wallpaper app for iOS and Android called Panels. The app features a curated selection of high-quality digital wallpapers from artists, but of course, there's a catch: To get access to the high-resolution wallpapers without ads, users have to shell out about $50 a year, or $12 a month.
With nearly 20 million subscribers on YouTube, Brownlee is a major influence in technology reviews. Brownlee is so influential that he has been accused of causing the collapse of high-profile companies after posting negative videos about products such as Fisker and Humane. These accusations are misplaced. Fisker cars had serious security flaws, and Humane's Ai Pin barely worked despite raising $230 million before the product even shipped. That, rather than YouTube videos, likely contributed to the failure of those companies. Still, Brownlee has a reputation as a keenly observant and insightful technology reviewer, so fans had high hopes when he announced the release of the app.
The Panels app has a strong premise: Whenever Brownlee reviews a new phone, laptop, or smartwatch, his device always has a particularly stylish wallpaper to accompany it. As he pointed out when announcing the app, if you type “where is mkbhd…” into Google, one of the first suggestions is “…get his wallpaper.”
The timing couldn't have been better for the app to be released: Last week, Apple released iOS 18, an iPhone software update that emphasizes lock and home screen customization, so there's bound to be a demand for sleek, high-resolution wallpapers to help people get the most out of iOS 18. But Panels' drawback is that it's too expensive. The app is free to use, and you can download lower-res images by watching two 30-second ads for each one, but it's the kind of money-making scheme Brownlee himself would decry.
Image Credit: iPhone Wallpaper via Panels
The app's saving grace is that it's opening up new revenue streams for digital artists in an age where generative AI is a threat. Brownlee says payments are split 50/50 with artists. If a user buys a wallpaper for around $8 and Apple takes 30% of the payment, artists will receive around $2.80 per purchase. It's easy to find cool, high-resolution photos online, so Brownlee is trying to create a market for something people aren't used to paying for. But if anyone has the clout to make this work, it's probably a tech influencer with Brownlee's clout. If artists can get additional passive income from the app, what's the harm?
Well, in terms of data privacy, it might be harmful. Fans were quick to point out that, according to the App Store, Panels can track users' location, usage data, and personal identifiers across other apps and websites. To Brownlee's credit, he addressed this issue in a post on X shortly after its release.
“First, we will fix the excessive data disclosure, as people have rightly pointed out. In the interest of transparency, we don't actually ask for your location, internet history, etc. The data disclosure (which everyone is screenshotting) was probably too broad and heavily driven by ad network suggestions. We are working to fix this as soon as possible,” he said.
He added that the free version of the app will also feature less frequent ads.
Incidentally, you can still get cool new wallpapers with the free version of Panels, though the lower-res images don't look great unless you add one of Apple's filters, and it's hard to imagine paying a Spotify subscription fee to get around that barrier.
“Working in public means you get a ton of immediate feedback, which is pretty awesome,” Brownlee wrote. “It's almost like putting out a YouTube video.”