MKBHD, or Marques Brownlee, has become a household name in the world of tech reviews and gadget unboxings.
His success on YouTube has not only granted him access to some of the most anticipated and cutting-edge tech products but has also opened doors to personal interviews with some of the biggest influencers in the technology space.
As his career soared, Brownlee began diversifying his ventures, expanding beyond content creation. In addition to running his own production studio, he launched a new app called 'Panels Wallpapers.'
However, the launch of this app stirred up quite a reaction.
The internet quickly turned against him, with many mocking and ridiculing the project. Even some of his long-time fans expressed their disappointment and frustration.
Brownlee introduced his new app, Panels Wallpapers, during his iPhone 16 review, in a kind of video that’s typically one of his most anticipated releases of the year.
However, instead of focusing on the iPhone, viewers quickly flooded the comments with criticism about the Panels Wallpapers app.
This happened because people were disappointed with the app's pricing model.
Panels Wallpapers which is designed to provide access to a handpicked selection of “stunning full-resolution wallpapers” created by digital artists, has what it calls the the Panels Plus subscription, which allows users to download all wallpapers in high resolution.
This requires a hefty subscription worth $49.99 per year (or $11.99 per month).
While free users can still access a limited selection of wallpapers, they’re only available in standard definition and require watching two ads before downloading.
It's worth noting that a subscription-based app is nothing new, and what this Panels Wallpapers app offers can be justified.
However, the app, at least at its early versions, is not a good app.
It's riddled with bugs, and it even crashed on some people's iPhones.
Then, there is the thing about its user interface, which is the same on iOS and Android, meaning that it has its own design approach, making it look native on neither of the platforms.
While it's still entirely plausible for a premium wallpaper app to justify a price of $50 a year, but this Panels Wallpapers app isn't a premium app.
This happens because the app has a long list of permissions it needs to be granted. From users' general location for tracking, which on iOS, brings up the “Ask App Not to Track” dialog. While it doesn't ask for GPS location access, but it uses users' IP address for tracking, which Apple classifies as "location." And premium app shouldn't do all this, and shouldn't ask permission to track users across apps.
Also, premium apps shouldn't force users to watch ads to get their free content.
Part of building in public is getting mass feedback immediately, which is pretty dope. Almost exactly like publishing a YouTube video
First thing we're doing is fixing the excessive data disclosures, as people rightfully brought up. For transparency, we'd never actually ask for…
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) September 24, 2024
Social media can be a cruel place to be, and nobody is immune from being criticized, lambasted, mocked, or even bullied.
And here, Marques Brownlee, the YouTube influencer and tech reviewer known as MKBHD, is learning this the hard way after launching his new app.
“Part of building in public is getting mass feedback immediately, which is pretty dope. Almost exactly like publishing a YouTube video,” Brownlee said.
"As far as pricing, I hear you! It’s our own personal challenge to work to deliver that kind of value for the premium version," he said.
“I’ll also be dialing back ad frequency for the free experience.
As for the intrusive tracing, Brownlee said that these data disclosures are “likely too broad” and that "we’d never actually actually ask for your location, internet history, etc."
The YouTube said that his team is working to fix the issue.