MKBHD‘s Wallpaper App, Panels, โto โคShut โขDown After Failing to Sustain Initial Momentum
SAN FRANCISCO – Marques Brownlee, the popular tech reviewerโฃ known as โขMKBHD, is shutting โฃdown his wallpaper โapp, Panels, on December 31, 2025. The app, launched in September โฃ2024, struggled to maintain its initial user base despite a strong debut โadn Brownlee’s significantโ online following.
Panels was born from a โขrecurring observation: fans frequently โฃinquired about the wallpapers and lock screens featured in Brownlee’s videoโ reviews. Google even auto-suggested “where does mkbhd get his wallpapers” as a common search query. theโ app offered curated, high-resolution wallpapers created by partnered artists, available โthrough a subscription model ofโข $50 per year or $12 per โขmonth (with artists receivingโข a portion of the revenue).
Despite rankingโค No. 1 in the iOS and Google Play โcharts for photo apps upon launch, Panels couldn’t convert initial downloads into sustained engagement. Brownlee acknowledged the challenges in a recent unlisted YouTube video, โขstating, “We knew it โwas niche, butโ we madeโ mistakesโ in making our first app, and โultimately, weโฃ weren’t able to โturn it intoโฃ the vision I had.”โข He also notedโ in a blog post that “the makeup of the advancement team changed,” hindering theโค app’s growth.
According to data from Appfigures, Panels amassed approximately 900,000 lifetime downloads and generated $95,000 in consumer spending. โขHowever, downloadsโ dwindled to 3,000 in the last month, with consumer spending fallingโค to $500, causing the app to drop off U.S. app store rankings. Users downloaded over 2 million wallpapersโค through the platform.
Panelsโ will issue refunds to users with active annual subscriptions. theโ app’s code will be open-sourced after the shutdown, allowing other developers to possibly build upon the project. All user data will be deleted upon closure.