Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee , or MKBHD, announced on Monday that his phone wallpaper app Panels is shutting down.

Fans had high hopes for Brownlee’s foray into app development, given his reputation as an eagle-eyed tech reviewer who has amassed more than 20 million followers on YouTube. He’s so influential that some blamed his commentary on Humane AI and Fisker for those companies’ eventual failures (we think the real issue is that you shouldn’t raise $230 million if you have no product). Yet from the time Brownlee launched Panels in September 2024, the app struggled to find an audience of its own.

“We knew it was niche, but we made mistakes in making our first app, and ultimately, we weren’t able to turn it into the vision I had,” Brownlee said in an unlisted YouTube video

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