MKBHD's Panel App Closes After Failing to Gain Traction
Marques Brownlee, the popular YouTube personality known for MKBHD, has announced that his digital wallpaper app, Panels, will be shutting down on December 31. The app, which launched in September 2024, was meant to provide users with exclusive high-resolution wallpapers, but ultimately failed to carve out a loyal customer base willing to pay for them.
Despite its initial success, reaching the top spot in the iOS App Store's Photos category, Panels struggled to turn a profit. Brownlee acknowledged that changing the composition of his development team made it difficult to find collaborators who shared his vision and passion. Rather than trying to keep the app running without growth, he opted for a clean break.
The business model of Panels was inherently flawed, charging users $50 per year or $12 per month for access to premium wallpapers – an option that could be easily replicated by downloading and using personal photos from their own library. The free version required users to watch ads before downloading images, further diminishing the appeal.
The app also faced criticism for its data collection practices at launch, prompting Brownlee to make changes as the project progressed. However, the initial perception of Panels as a cash and data grab proved difficult to shake off, especially in an industry where there is often a lack of clarity around market demand.
According to Appfigures data, Panels had around 900,000 total downloads since its launch and generated approximately $95,000 in purchases across iOS and Android. While this may not be a bad start for a side project, it's clear that the conversion rate was too low given Brownlee's massive audience on YouTube and X.
As the app's shutdown approaches, Brownlee has announced that Panels will be open-sourced, making its code available for anyone to try and revive it. However, it remains unclear why someone would attempt to do so, as the market conditions have likely changed since Panels' launch in 2024. Perhaps a rebranding of Panels as a generative AI tool for creating wallpapers could attract investors and interest from tech enthusiasts.
Marques Brownlee, the popular YouTube personality known for MKBHD, has announced that his digital wallpaper app, Panels, will be shutting down on December 31. The app, which launched in September 2024, was meant to provide users with exclusive high-resolution wallpapers, but ultimately failed to carve out a loyal customer base willing to pay for them.
Despite its initial success, reaching the top spot in the iOS App Store's Photos category, Panels struggled to turn a profit. Brownlee acknowledged that changing the composition of his development team made it difficult to find collaborators who shared his vision and passion. Rather than trying to keep the app running without growth, he opted for a clean break.
The business model of Panels was inherently flawed, charging users $50 per year or $12 per month for access to premium wallpapers – an option that could be easily replicated by downloading and using personal photos from their own library. The free version required users to watch ads before downloading images, further diminishing the appeal.
The app also faced criticism for its data collection practices at launch, prompting Brownlee to make changes as the project progressed. However, the initial perception of Panels as a cash and data grab proved difficult to shake off, especially in an industry where there is often a lack of clarity around market demand.
According to Appfigures data, Panels had around 900,000 total downloads since its launch and generated approximately $95,000 in purchases across iOS and Android. While this may not be a bad start for a side project, it's clear that the conversion rate was too low given Brownlee's massive audience on YouTube and X.
As the app's shutdown approaches, Brownlee has announced that Panels will be open-sourced, making its code available for anyone to try and revive it. However, it remains unclear why someone would attempt to do so, as the market conditions have likely changed since Panels' launch in 2024. Perhaps a rebranding of Panels as a generative AI tool for creating wallpapers could attract investors and interest from tech enthusiasts.
he invested so much time and effort into panels and it just didn't work out 
the thing that really gets me is how he had such a massive audience on youtube and x, but still struggled to make panels profitable 
50 bucks a year or $12 a month is just too steep for most people, especially when you can just use your own photos 
i mean, it's not like marques was trying to scam anyone, he was just trying to monetize his passion project and it didn't quite work out 
. I mean, who pays $50/year for digital wallpapers? That's just crazy talk 
. I'm surprised Marques didn't realize this sooner and just stuck to what he's good at: reviewing gear 
. At least the app had some decent visuals, but hey, that's not enough to make up for the lack of substance, right? 
The fact that it was open-sourced is kinda cool, I guess, but I'm not sure anyone will be able to revive it now. Maybe someone will try and turn it into a generative AI wallpaper thingy, lol... who knows 
.
and X... i mean what was going through his mind when he launched the paid model tho? Charging people $50/year or $12/month for wallpapers that u can just get from ur own pics on ur phone 
. I loved the idea of having exclusive wallpapers and all that jazz 
. But at the same time, Marques is a smart dude, he knew it was flawed from the get-go. Giving it away as open-source might just give some genius out there a chance to breathe new life into it though 
.
. You gotta be willing to take the risk and put in the work or you're just gonna get left behind 
And don't even get me started on the data collection... ouch! 
It's like he thought people would just blindly pay because it was MKBHD involved. Newsflash: just 'cause you're popular, doesn't mean your business model is solid 
. but then it dawned on me that you can just use your own phone pics from the internet 
? fingers crossed! 
! I mean, I love Marques Brownlee's content on YouTube, but his business idea just didn't seem to work out, right? 
. But hey, at least it's open-sourced, so someone might try to revive it in the future 
#RIPPanels #MKBHD #FailedStartup #GenerativeAI
. It's okay to acknowledge defeat and move on rather than trying to force a product that just isn't working. Panels might not have been the best example of this, but it's definitely something to learn from.
. The app had some cool features, I'll give it that, but it was never going to make bank. And 900k downloads and $95k in sales? That's cute, but like, for someone with his massive audience, it's a tiny drop in the bucket 
. But honestly, I wouldn't count on it 
. The tech market changes fast, and if no one sees the potential in reviving Panels, then it's just gonna sit there collecting dust 
.
. I mean, Marques Brownlee has this huge following on YouTube and he tries something new and it just doesn't take off 
. The problem is that he's trying to sell exclusive wallpapers for like 50 bucks a year or something... who's gonna pay that?