Panels Wallpapers 9+

This is a strangely positioned app. It feels pretty late to the scene and not as useful as it could have been a few years ago.

I get that paid wallpapers is a good idea and pushing forward the premise of paying artists properly for their work is great to see. But the “free” version available is simply awful. Watch 2 Ads to download a lower resolution version of a wallpaper you can’t even fully preview beforehand (likely to avoid screenshotting? If so, a watermark would prevent that?).

There are drastically more generous free tiers from apps by solo developers (without large budgets). Yet this app, which seems to be both leaning on the MKBHD link yet also sort of distancing itself too, doesn’t even want to offer your first 2 or 3 downloads for free??

Is it perhaps a fear that most users will only want to download their free ones? If so, then the core concept of the app is flawed too surely? As the subscription is betting on the desire to regularly change wallpaper with new content.

In line with this, the description is fairly misleading stating “With Panels you’ll get: hundreds of full resolution wallpapers” yet in reality that’s only true with Panels+ the subscription…

Regarding the app itself, there’s simply no way to justify the current required permissions and tracking data it collects. A wallpaper app simply does not need to know anything about your location data. I also don’t think “search history” or “contact info” are really necessary.

The wallpapers look fantastic. There’s some amazing artwork to be found here. The free ones are more than good enough for most people, and should add a touch of class to most devices. And the paid tiers seem very reasonably priced considering the quality and quantity of artwork you get access to.

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The app keeps becoming unresponsive. I keep having to close the app and reopen it again because it just keeps freezing up on me. I’ll get to scroll down twice, or maybe three times, and then that’s it - crashed again. I don’t understand why it keeps happening. I have an iPhone 15 Pro Max on iOS 18.0 and app version 1.2.0 if that helps?

I think everyone’s main issue here is going to be the price for the premium functions of this app. Now admittedly, I didn’t sign up to experiment with it, but in a world with such good generative AI tools (not that I support them over art from artists) that price tag just can’t be justified. Even if there were mind-blowing features, I’d never do a monthly subscription and instead do a one time cost otherwise it comes across that you’re only looking for quick profit.

However, I do believe that Marques is invested in this product and so as an enjoyer of his content, I thought I’d give an idea for a way to justify that price tag. I’d make it so that by paying a fee (not monthly, but per basis) you can commission a wallpaper from the artist that you choose. That way you turn this app into a marketplace for artists, and also allow the work they’ve already uploaded to be a portfolio of sorts.

Just an idea, but right now, this app is a 1 star. I hope to see better.