TL;DR
MKBHD is shutting down the Panels app at the end of this month, citing issues with finding the right development team fit.
You can no longer buy collections, and you must download existing wallpapers before the app is removed.
Users will receive automatic pro-rated refunds for active subscriptions, and the app code is promised to be open-sourced after shutdown.
I spent $50 a year on wallpapers once as a monthly subscription. It was to support an independent artist that hand painted video game scenes I enjoyed, produced 1-3 new paintings per month, granted access to his back catalog, and the deliverable was high quality scans I could download and use at my leisure.
Since he is an artist, and you could feel that each painting took weeks to complete, I felt justified.
Never had a desire to pay for an app with generic wallpapers though, or to financially support someone who generates my annual salary per sponsorship deal.
Sounds cool. Could you please tell me the name of that artist?
Sure - https://www.patreon.com/orioto
He might be doing some digital now (I’m no longer subscribed and I see some free digital sketches in there), but I know when I subscribed the final work was painted on canvas.
His favorite one of mine is titled “Breath of Adventure”, and I’m fortunate he shared a 4k scan that looks amazing on my monitor.
It kills me because I feel like culturally we’ve really adjusted to this idea of individually patronizing the arts … if only our whole economy weren’t centered around squeezing out every last drop of disposable income from us.
My socialism sensors are tingling