Let's Talk About Panels
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Promos
Let's talk about the Panels app. Panels: get.panels.art ZoneOfTech Review: youtu.be Juxtopposted review: youtube.com Panels Artist Application: forms.gle MKBHD Merch: shop.mkbhd.com Tech I'm using right now: amazon.com Playlist of MKBHD Intro music: goo.gl ~ twitter.com @MKBHD @MKBHD
In this video, Marques Brownlee introduces Panels, a wallpaper app he and his team have built to give users a centralized place to discover and download wallpapers from multiple artists. He begins by acknowledging mistakes in the initial launch and explains the goal of clarifying how Panels works, including what the UI looks like and why there is a paid tier. He describes the core idea: a free, high-quality wallpaper experience with optional paid art collections and a separate Panels Plus membership that unlocks full-resolution art across the catalog. He emphasizes that the app is meant to support both free and paid art, and he shares the decision to split profits 50/50 with artists, situating it as a way to bring more eyeballs to creators while maintaining fair compensation for their work. The discussion then moves to pricing strategy, the removal of in-feed ads for a cleaner experience, and the handling of privacy disclosures, stressing that users can use Panels without logging in and that data collection is minimized and clearly labeled. Finally, Marques outlines future plans including weekly drops of new art, ongoing app improvements for both iOS and Android, and a continued dialogue with artists about features and policies, while encouraging artists to apply to be part of Panels.
Topics · technology · apps · art · media-and-entertainment · digital-art · software-development · mobile-apps
Questions answered
- What is Panels and how is it supposed to work for free users vs paid users?
- Panels is a wallpaper app designed to showcase both free and paid art from multiple artists. Free users can access standard resolution wallpapers with ads removed from the in-feed and a clean experience, while higher resolution versions and premium collections require a Panels Plus subscription or one-time purchases from individual artists.
- How does the revenue split with artists work?
- The app uses a 50/50 revenue split between Panels and the artists, aiming to mirror common platforms and align incentives to promote artist exposure and fair compensation.
- Will there be weekly updates of new art in Panels?
- Yes, the plan is to release weekly drops every Friday with new art, and the team will update the app and the artist catalog regularly based on feedback and popularity.
- Is there any use of AI in creating the wallpapers?
- Some pieces are AI-enhanced or AI-assisted, clearly labeled as such, with artists retaining control and the team ensuring transparency about AI involvement in the artwork.