- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
Marques Brownlee, known as MKBHD, faced backlash over his new wallpaper app, Panels, due to its high subscription cost ($49.99/year) and concerns over excessive data permissions.
Brownlee acknowledged user feedback, promising to adjust ad frequency for free users and address privacy concerns, clarifying that the app’s data disclosures were broader than intended.
The app, which offers curated wallpapers and shares profits with artists, aims to improve over time, despite criticisms of its design and monetization approach.
You must log in or # to comment.
Yikes
“I hear you”
Corporate PR phrase detected. Product mentally blacklisted
Disingenuous shill. He’s been a famous youtuber for years. He knows how consumers think despite getting all of his shit sent to him for free. There’s no way in hell he thought this would work out. “I hear you” Oh do you, Markass Brownlee? You heard all of the noise that people think it’s bullshit that you want to sell $50/year subscriptions for jpegs? What kind of philanthropic or based follow up do you have planned to capitalize on all of this newfound SEO?
Youtubers really don’t have to answer to anyone. He loses nothing by launching this app, and he gains a whole lot of new eyes and ears coming to his channel. He’ll find a way to humanize himself through this and new viewers will click sub because he’ll appear super down to Earth. New subs = more sponsorships.
I’ve never liked this guy, he just always felt like a smarmy asshole each time I tried to watch him and he shilled Apple stuff way too hard for my liking. Blocked his channel and several channels that collabed with him and was mostly able to ignore his existence. Doing something shitty like this kinda adds confirmation to my perceptions of him. What an out of touch douche move.
My phone has a camera… i can set photos as wallpapers…
I got a Note 2 at launch and was showing it off at work to people interested in it.
someone asked about the background and where I got it. said I took it and left it at that.
took the pic of the top of my bathroom trashcan while dumping some toxic waste.
pic is the same trashcan now, like me it’s a bit dented, dirty, and doesn’t open as well as it used to. but, it still works.
No offense but I wouldn’t pay $49 for that. Maybe $48.75, but not $49.
I think I would like the idea (and at first this my understanding) if you could buy one wallpaper for $1 (or a pack of few for $3) and the 70-90% would go to the artist. Also app would have to limit tracking to just some basic stuff. I know you can get wallpapers free, but supporting something that looks great on your screen would be a nice option.
Of course subscription service for this is mad.
New “LOOK I AM RICH” app.
I hear you, but I hear the money counter MORE
I hear you, but it was worth a try.
I don’t understand why the internet is unable to say “I don’t like this app, so I won’t pay for it” rather than “I don’t like this app, so you’re a bad person”. Hundreds of people raging over and catastrophising something they never bought or even heard of until now.
Because it’s blatant consumer exploitation. Just because the Latin phrase “caveat emptor” exists, doesn’t mean that it’s a challenge for every scummy youtuber to launch a shite app in order to fleece their subscribers. This is literally the free market in action. The consumers are making their voices heard. I’ve never understood the mentality of “don’t like it, ignore it”. No. It actively undermines the work other people on YT have done to legitimize the platform.
See these people as entertainment and not as reviewers, influencers. They are not more than entertainment companies.
Secondly, I don’t see him as the dev of the app. I don’t know which company dev it and he put his name on it. This brings us to the cut. 50 artist, 25 him, 25 dev company. Without him, the dev company has no chance.
If I’m looking my definition, it looks like a scam.
50/50 cut is borderline predatory. It should be 30/70. It feels like marques is so out of touch with common people.
30% is still predatory imo. Especially for a glorified marketplace with an image delivery system.
He is fronting money for development. Which is not cheap.
Once dev cost stabilizes, I would love to have a better split for artists.
Dev cost is less than you’d think. And lowering costs when you make an app that’s meant to generate money for you? That will never happen.
Spoken like a true non-developer.
Here’s his wallpaper: MKBSD
Calling them underwhelming is an overstatement. I can find at least 50 better ways to burn my money.
This professional guy shares handmade wallpaper for free.
looks like shit thanks 🙏👍
There are infinite list of things and services that are way too expensive for me to even consider buying but I also don’t go around complaining about them. Move on guys… If you want free wallpapers you can try one of the other 9000 free wallpaper apps available. This is recreational outrage.
Lol screw this dude, never liked him to begin with.
Tech bro knob slobber.
The first time i saw one of his reviews, i thought, “This guy isn’t genuine.” “That’s not an opinion. it’s a specification disguised as an opinion.”
He gave off real shill vibes, and then i later found out he was an apple simp, and it all came together. He isn’t super biased, but he definitely gives more providence to apple products.
His recent review of the apple vr headset was too nice. He said some bad things but qualifies each critisism with a “but i like that” or “but it’s not a deal breaker.”
Maybe i created a bias against him based on my early impressions, but i just get a bad vibe from him. He doesn’t seem to give his opinions.
I will say, though, an exception would be that rabbit thing he reviewed poorly recently and got some backlash from the manufacturer for. I believe he then came back and justified his review. Although everyone was reviewing it poorly so he would give the game away if he said it was good. So perhaps its not an exception… i dont know. Im just freestyling this comment…
Totally on board with you. The only tech dudes I trust are ones that are around Linux space bc they usually tend to call out bs when they see it; mental outlaw, someordinarygamers to name a couple.
