MKBHD: poor communication killed Panels, not the idea

Marques Brownlee has said the failure of his wallpaper app Panels came down to how it was launched, not the product itself, warning creators that what you don’t say at launch can be just as damaging as what you do.

Speaking on the Jon Youshaei YouTube channel, Brownlee said the team spent more than a year making decisions behind the scenes – bringing in artists, negotiating revenue splits and building the product – but communicated almost none of it when Panels went live in October 2024.

“The launch was casually tacked on in the middle of a different review,” he said. “Hey, we made this thing. Check it out. Let me know if you like it – the end. And didn’t explain any of the choices.”

One consequence was persistent mischaracterisation of the product. Brownlee said most people came to describe Panels as a paid wallpaper app, when it was in fact free, with an optional subscription for access to a wider library.

“I think the communication specifically was the failure,” he said.

Panels shut down in November 2025 after failing to sustain growth beyond its early momentum. Despite reaching number one on the iOS and Google Play charts in the photos category and surpassing two million downloads at launch, growth stalled as users questioned the value of a paid wallpaper service given the availability of free alternatives.

Brownlee said he does not plan to relaunch Panels but would approach any future product launch differently.

“If I were to launch something else in the future, I would go through and explain all of those things – to give everyone the information that they can then pick apart. That would be way better than them assuming everything.”

He said the experience had been valuable regardless, giving his team a clearer understanding of developers, external partners and the communication decisions that shape how a product lands.

“It’s still a win,” he said.

Watch the full podcast interview here.

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