mkbhd Archives - Gizmochina

MKBHD Wallpaper App Drama Explained

Soumyakanti — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 10:59:00 +0000

Marques Brownlee, widely recognized as MKBHD, is facing backlash over the launch of his new wallpaper app, Panels. Introduced during his much-anticipated iPhone 16 review, the app quickly became a topic of controversy due to its subscription model and privacy concerns. Panels offers high-resolution wallpapers curated from digital artists, but the price – $49.99 per year or $11.99 per month – has left many fans disgruntled, calling it a “cash grab.”

Pricing Controversy

While the app promises stunning wallpapers, many users expressed disappointment that someone like Brownlee, known for his consumer-focused and quality-driven reviews, would charge such a high fee for something as simple as wallpapers. Critics highlighted that similar content is readily available online for free, making the premium model difficult to justify.

Brownlee’s comment sections were flooded with reactions, with one particularly harsh user on social media sarcastically suggesting to just “download a jpeg from the internet.” In a notable turn of events, one frustrated user even reverse-engineered the app and wrote a script to download all the wallpapers for free, sharing it publicly on GitHub within hours of the app’s release.

Data Collection Concerns

In addition to the cost, users voiced concerns about data collection. The app asks for various permissions, including location data and other personal identifiers, prompting worries over privacy. Screenshots showing the app’s data disclosures quickly circulated online, further fueling the outrage. For someone with a reputation like Brownlee, this move seemed out of step with his previous recommendations of straightforward, user-focused products.

Brownlee’s Response to Criticism

Facing this wave of criticism, Brownlee responded publicly on X (formerly Twitter), acknowledging the feedback. He assured users that his team is working to address the privacy concerns, clarifying that the data disclosures were likely too broad and largely influenced by ad networks. He emphasized that they would never actually request sensitive information like location or internet history, and adjustments were already in progress to fix the issue.

Brownlee also promised to reduce the frequency of ads in the free version of the app and to continue delivering value to those subscribing to the premium model. He highlighted that the app is a collaborative effort with digital artists, with revenue being split 50/50, and that Panels is only starting as a wallpaper app, with more features likely to come.

Despite the backlash, Panels has already gained significant traction, with over 50,000+ downloads on Android and a strong showing in Apple’s App Store. Brownlee, undeterred by the initial criticism, remains committed to improving the app and its user experience, but it’s clear that his audience expects more from the tech influencer who built his brand on trust and quality reviews.

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How MKBHD held dBrand Accountable for an Offensive Tweet

Anubhav — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 01:20:36 +0000

Popular tech Youtuber Marques Brownlee, known for his channel MKBHD, recently paused his partnership with phone case/skin company dbrand after a social media exchange.

dBrand has a history of being funny on X, but they took it a little far this time.

The situation began when a customer posted about an issue with a dbrand product. dbrand responded with a now-deleted tweet deemed offensive by a lot of users on X. This is a part of dBrand’s online social media presence. While the company has a history of using humor on social media, this instance crossed a line. Below is a screenshot of the original tweet.

Now MKBHD and dbrand are in the eyes of a lot of tech enthusaists. They both have a total of 8.5 million followers between them. A public scenario such as this always gets attention, and that’s exactly what happened. People started leaving harsh comments towards dbrand, many of them saying that they will never support dbrand again because of that insensitive comment. For instance, a user said, and we quote, “Poking fun at customers and being racist are two completely different things. Seems like the going price of being racist is $10,000”. Another user wrote, “Still very toxic of you to act this way in the first place. Hard to earn respect, easy to lose it.” You might be thinking – is it that big of a deal? Read on to judge for yourself.

Now what exactly happened was, the tweet (in the image above) also represented dbrand in bad taste because the victim account was an Indian guy. You can see how their joke comes across in a big online space, that is X.

The company doesn’t even refrain from using cusses and insults towards even their most loyal customers, so it’s easy to see why the victim got caught in the line of fire.

Facing public backlash, dbrand issued a two-part response. Initially, they apologized directly to the customer and offered a sizable amount of money, but ultimately, defended their overall social media strategy. Marques clearly saw this tweet and wasn’t exactly impressed. He wrote a couple of detailed paragraphs where he straight up announced that he would stop working with dbrand because of this whole fiasco. He also talked about the harm caused by the original tweet and called for a more sincere apology reflecting on their actions. These are the tweets that dbrand and MKBHD posted, and its clear that it this point, everyone was taking it seriously.

dbrand responded positively, acknowledging the seriousness of the situation and agreeing to remove the offensive tweet. MKBHD responded shortly, commending the company’s willingness to learn and adapt, indicating a restored working relationship. It’s interesting to note that MKBHD is probably dbrand’s biggest source of customers, so if this went a different route, the company’s revenue would’ve definitely taken a hit, no doubt.

Also, props to Marques for taking a stand almost immediately after this happened. It doesn’t matter if it came from a place of a moral standpoint or he simply wanted to keep a squeaky clean PR on his YouTube brand – the company that started this ordeal was held accountable by a big influencer. The consequences were quick, and the recovery was quicker. Hopefully dbrand doesn’t give up its humor, but moderates it in the future.

This incident is a reminder of how important public images are these days. Since consequences of actions on social media have escalated, companies can’t tread as lightly. While humor can be a marketing tool, companies must be aware of potential rebuttals and be prepared to adapt.

RELATED:

(Via)

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Marques Brownlee’s Twitter Post Hints Towards a 300-Mile Range for Tesla Cybertruck

Anubhav — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 02:59:44 +0000

As Tesla gears up for the much-awaited launch of its Cybertruck, a sneak peek into its potential range has stirred excitement among electric vehicle enthusiasts. This information, although still under wraps, hints at achieving around 300 miles of range on a full charge.

The truck is expected to be officially unveiled tomorrow

This possibility came from a photo shared by Marques Brownlee, a renowned gadget expert and YouTuber. The image, captured from the driver’s seat of a Cybertruck, inadvertently revealed a crucial detail – the driving range display showing 265 miles with the battery nearly full. This simple observation leads to a calculated guess that the Cybertruck could offer approximately 291 miles at 100% charge.

This estimated range is not just a number; it represents Tesla’s ongoing commitment to pushing the boundaries of electric vehicle technology. Achieving a 300-mile range is not just a technical achievement but also a psychological win, reassuring potential buyers about the practicality and reliability of electric vehicles for everyday use.

Interestingly, this might just be the tip of the iceberg. Tesla has a history of introducing higher-range models initially, suggesting that the Cybertruck’s base model could potentially offer even more mileage. Additionally, the company had previously hinted at a version with up to 500 miles of range, although its availability remains uncertain.

RELATED:

(Via)

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Nothing Phone (2) full design revealed along with new Glyph interface functions

Sean — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 09:29:00 +0000

We finally have a first proper look at the Nothing Phone (2) in all its glory. The upcoming device’s entire design was teased in a recent YouTube video, which offers us a glimpse at the various changes and improvements made to its design, especially its Glyph LED interface. So let’s have a look.

Nothing Phone (2) Glyph interface brings new functions & upgrades

Talking about the overall design first, the exclusive MKBHD video compared the Phone (2) with its predecessor, the Phone (1). Here, we can see that there are barely any changes in the dimensions of the smartphone and its design language, which makes sense considering the brand is just starting off. Although, the back is apparently slightly more curved while the front retains the flat display.

The layout of the Glyph LEDs also follows a similar pattern, but there is a big change in the strips themselves and their overall functionality. Previously, the Phone (1) featured 12 different LED lighting zones that were controlled by the software. Now, the Phone (2) offers a much higher 33 zones. Out of these, 16 alone are housed in the arc LED strip situated on the center-right.

This was to add a bunch of features to this LED strip. It is now capable of doubling as a volume indicator, indicates a countdown timer, and will even support Uber and Zomato in the future with the light indicating the distance of your cab/food delivery. MKBHD showcased new customization options as well, with the top right LED strip now lighting up when a particular app notification is set to be highlighted. Lastly, the Swedish House Mafia-made Glyph composer can also be seen in action, which allows you to create your very own ringtone.

Google Pixel 6a beats every flagship phone including Pixel 7 Pro & iPhone 14 Pro in MKBHD’s blind camera test

Sean — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 10:04:49 +0000

MKBHD also known as Marques Brownlee, a popular tech based YouTuber, has just released a new video on his channel. In this video, he compared a bunch of smartphones like the Google Pixel 7 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and more against one another in a blind camera test and some of these results might surprise you, so let’s have a look.

Marques Brownlee recently setup a dedicated page on his official website where he had his large audience participate in multiple rounds of voting. There were multiple categories that the audience could vote on like the overall camera performance, standard shots, low light images, and even portrait shots. There were a total of 16 smartphones with a vast majority of them being premium flagship grade devices. But despite being pit against some major names like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro, and even the Pixel 7 Pro, the Google Pixel 6a took the top spot in the overall rankings.

This is quite notable considering the camera on the Pixel 6a is the same one that the company has employed on the Pixel series since the Pixel 2. Although, the overall results do not show the entire picture. MKBHD’s blind camera test had 21.2 million votes that divided the results between three categories. In the standard test, the Oppo Find X5 Pro is the winner for regular shots. Meanwhile, the Pixel 7 Pro took the throne for portrait shots, while the Vivo X80 Pro+ lead the pack in the low light category.

Interestingly enough, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro saw some rather unremarkable results as it only got the 6th place in the standard, 10th place in the low light, and 5th place in the portrait blind camera tests. In the overall average rankings, the Pixel 6a surprisingly came first in a David and Goliath kind of fashion, with the runner up being the Pixel 7 Pro. Rounding up the top three list was the ASUS Zenfone 9.

Here’s the OnePlus 8 Pro hands on video, and a few leaked poster images

Sean — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 07:32:34 +0000

The OnePlus 8 series has already garnered a lot of hype. And now, a YouTube content creator by the name of MKBHD (AKA Marques Brownlee) brings us the first hands on video of the OnePlus 8 Pro. This arrives just before the official launch event, while a leak reveals promotional poster images for the base and Pro variants.

Here’s my OnePlus 8 Pro

Stay tuned for the full review: https://t.co/mcJj2dJUan pic.twitter.com/HS4d2zeOMP

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) April 13, 2020

In a tweet by the tech channel, Marques shared a short video where he showcased the OnePlus 8 Pro. Unfortunately, while the company gave MKBHD the exclusive right to reveal the hands on video before its launch, they had him cover every part of the phone except its display. For those unaware, the OnePlus 8 Pro features a QHD+ (1440p) display with a high refresh rate of 120Hz and a 240Hz touch sampling rate.

OnePlus 8 poster images

OnePlus apparently wanted the focus of the video to be the display and it clearly is, with its curved AMOLED screen that also supports HDR 10+. The in-display fingerprint scanner also made a return and according to MKBHD, the display is “noticeably brighter than last year’s phone.” Interestingly, the cutouts for the ports of the device, however, revealed a bright blue color underneath. Furthermore, even the camera bump is in line with previous leaks that we have reported on. So, it is highly likely to be the same designs that have been covered.

OnePlus 8 Pro

Another set of leaked promotional poster images (via stufflistings) has also surfaced online recently as well. The images reveal the OnePlus 8 Pro with the same curved edge display. Notably, unlike the MKBHD video which had the top portion of the display being covered, the poster images clearly depict a punch hole camera on the front. The images showcase both the base version and the high-end Pro version as well, with the difference being the additional sensor on the premium variant.

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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: The Best Smartphone Ever?

Linus — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 00:02:49 +0000

Last year we finally saw Samsung doing the right thing with its design. The company made the phones that look premium and expensive. This year we have the upgraded Galaxies and the S7 Edge is one of them. Will it once again be one of the best smartphones on the market?

This review is brought to you by TechLineHD.

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VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEfBGXWe5zg[/embedyt]

Samsung Galaxy S7 Review:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKx1VmuOl_c[/embedyt]

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

When it comes to the design, we are looking at the device that has a gorgeous 5.5” 2K display. We all know that Samsung have had one of the best screens on the market and the S7 Edge is no exception. The panel that is covered by the Gorilla Glass 5, is sharp, vibrant, bright and definitely on of the best on any smartphone.

You will be able to see this great screen even under water as the Galaxy S7 edge is IP68-certified, meaning that it can be used for 30 mins up to 1.5m under water. Also, it can survive a little bit of dust, too. I would say that is a huge advantage over the majority of the competition.

We have a really cool innovation – always-on display and this feature is really neat. Basically, what it does, it shows the clock, calendar and some useful stuff, and this feature uses a very low amount of energy. To be honest, it took me a few days to get used to it as I wanted to turn the display off manually but I really love this feature.

As the name implies, the display has edges on both sides and it adds a lot of character to the design. Sometimes it even makes an impression that the display is bezel-less.

Of course, there is a functional part of those edges. For example, you can create shortcuts to some tasks, quickly access contacts, news, apps and so on.

If you swipe your finger along the edge screen while the display is off, you’ll get some other useful info too.

On the front, we have a 5MP selfie shooter, notification LED and other usual stuff. On the bottom, there is a classic Samsung’s button layout – nicely backlit capacitive keys and the physical home button, which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

Speaking of which, it is very fast and accurate but I am disappointed that it does not work straight from the standby mode, meaning that you should press the home or power key first.

The back is made of another sheet of Gorilla Glass 5 and the edges of it are also slightly curved. I gotta tell you that those curves make a huge difference in terms of comfort and ergonomics while holding the phone in the hand.

The camera has 12MP, which sounds like a downgrade but we have all sorts of tech going on here. It has a dual-pixel tech to assure crazy fast auto-focus and believe me, it is the fastest I’ve seen. Also, the camera has OIS, PDAF and a whopping very bright f/1.7 aperture.

Next to the camera we have the LED flash and a heart rate monitor to help you track your exercise routines.

The power button, which is on the right along with volume keys, which are on the left, are very clicky and responsive.

On the bottom, we have the regular ports, the loudspeaker, and neither of them are covered by flaps despite waterproof properties of the phone.

On the top, there is a secondary mic and the nano SIM and microSD card tray. Yes, Samsung finally brought a cheap storage expansion option and you can add up to 200GB of local storage.

It is quite an interesting choice that we don’t have the IR blaster anymore. Well, I’ve never used it anyway but it was cool knowing it was there on the Galaxy S6.

Overall, the phone looks amazing and I love the design ot it. It screams premium and it sits comfortably in the hand despite being a device with 5.5”display. However, keep in mind that the glass back attracts fingerprints and smudges very quickly.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: UI

See the video review for the UI performance.

When it comes to the UI, we have Samsung’s Touchwiz, which is built on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

If you’ve used a Samsung device before, you will feel pretty familiar with the user interface. Most importantly, everything is running smoothly most of the times and I didn’t have any lags.

We have a bit cartoonish looking icons, a lot of quick settings toggles and what has become usual to the South-Korean manufacturer, quite a lot of features and customisation options.

Just to name a few, you can quickly launch the camera by double clicking the home button. Also, you can trigger one handed operation if click the home button three times.

There is pop-up window mode or split-screen feature for those who can’t live without multitasking.

There are some other features too. Some of them may sound gimmicky, while others are even called experimental.

Finally, you can customise your Galaxy device with a variety of different themes, wallpapers and so on.

All in all, the Touchwiz UI runs fast and fluid and I had a pleasant overall experience. However, it uses around 8GB of internal storage, which is too much I would say.

Also, the RAM management is not yet perfect. Seriously, this is 4GB RAM phone and there is only 1.2GB of RAM free after killing all the background tasks? Hopefully, this is what Samsung is going to fix with the software update soon.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: BENCHMARKS

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has a few hardware modifications but you can be rest assured that either model will have bleeding edge specifications.

My review unit is the EU model and it sports a home-brewed octa-core Exynos 8890 chip with the clock speeds of up to 2.6GHz, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.

See the video review for gaming performance.

If you are wondering what this combo of specs is capable of, all 3D games just fly. There is no stutter or any skipped frames, the graphics look awesome and the games load amazingly fast.

In addition, there is a dedicated Game Tools app that provides some convenient features like the ability to turn off alerts during the game or record the gameplay.

Also, the phone does not heat up at all even after extensive periods of gaming and that is thanks to the Volcano API and liquid-cooling system.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: MULTIMEDIA

When it comes to multimedia consumption, the sound quality via earphones is near excellent and the volume output is loud. However, the external speaker could be slightly louder and it sounds a little bit muffled. I believe that may be due to its waterproof properties.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: CAMERA

CHECK OUT IN-DEPTH CAMERA VIDEO REVIEW:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQz47PXFxFk[/embedyt]

Once you fire up the camera app, you will be blown away by the blazing fast auto-focus speeds in any light.

What we have here is typical Samsung, which brings quite a few settings and shooting modes, and you can even download more modes if you wish.

One thing I was really disappointed by is that the sensor uses a native 4:3 aspect ratio, meaning that the images will not be full screen if you shoot at the maximum resolution.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: IMAGE QUALITY

When it comes to the actual image quality, it is definitely on of the best in class. The daylight pictures look sharp, have lots of detail, the colour look natural and other aspects like dynamic range and exposure and handled well.

It is a similar story with indoor and macro shots as the camera manages to capture a great amount of detail despite worse lighting conditions.

The low-light camera performance is fantastic. It not only focuses very fast but also manages to produce great looking photos. Naturally, there is less detail but the level of it is still very good. Also, the noise levels are kept to minimum. The only shortcoming is that the auto post-processing leads to a slight yellow tint in some of the pictures.

The front facing camera takes very good selfies even in low light and that is thanks to the bright aperture.

Both 1080p and 4K videos look stunning. The footage is sharp and very detailed, the OIS does its job very well and the videos are one of the best I’ve seen.

See video review for video samples or see in-depth camera review.

Download original camera samples

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: CONNECTIVITY

All the connectivity options that include Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS are working fine. Also, the signal reception is excellent and the call quality is good.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: BATTERY

The S7 Edge has a 3600mAh battery and I was curious how it performs with the always-on display.

I gotta tell you that I was quite impressed with the results. I could get over 5 hours of screen-on time while taking lots of pictures, shooting a lot 4k videos, gaming, browsing the web and so on.

If you need to top up the battery, the phone charges up really fast and that is thanks to the fast charging feature. Also, there is an embedded wireless charging feature that helps cut a few wires.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. This is the best Samsung phone ever and definitely on of the best on the market.

The design is really flashy, the curved screen with the always-on display feature is fantastic, the UI is running fast and the phone has one of the best specs currently available that can handle even the most demanding tasks without a sweat or overheating.

Also, the S7 Edge has awesome camera, a great battery life and yeah, this thing is fully waterproof.

On the other hand, the glass backplate is a huge fingerprint magnet, the UI takes a lot of storage space and uses lots of RAM, and the current state of software does not support Android 6.0’s adaptable storage. Also, the camera sensor has a native 4:3 aspect ratio and oh boy, this phone is expensive. It costs around $800 and perhaps not everyone is going to buy it.

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a fantastic phone and it will be one of the best devices out there for months ahead despite having a few shortcomings. Just remember, premium phone comes at a premium price.