Panels Shutting Down đź’”: Brownlee's Big Mistake?
Tech & Science
Marques Brownlee’s Panels wallpaper app is set to shut down on December 31st, just over a year after its launch, which had been met with significant criticism. In a video posted on theMKBHD YouTube channel, Brownlee explained, “We made mistakes making our first app, and ultimately, we weren’t able to turn it into the vision I had.” The app’s initial release in September 2024 faced substantial backlash due to its high subscription pricing and advertising model. A message on the Panels website stated that changes to the development team’s composition, despite efforts to secure collaborators aligned with the project’s vision, proved unsuccessful. “Rather than continuing to operate the app without the capacity to grow it as originally envisioned, we decided to make a clean break,” the message read. Following the app’s shutdown, all user data will be deleted, and Brownlee plans to release the Panels code open source on GitHub. All subscriptions will be automatically canceled by December 31st, and refunds will be issued to active subscribers after that date.