I'm Marques Brownlee (aka MKBHD) and I make tech videos on YouTube. AMA!

Do you wear pants in every video?

Cannot confirm

What is your favourite piece of useless tech?

Damn that's a tough question. I almost never buy anything that I don't already have a use in mind for...

How bout decorative tech? *slowly slides dbrand skinned phone out of pocket

What are your thoughts on Chromebooks and Chrome OS in general, especially with the recent development of Android integration. Do you see convertible Chromebooks taking over for the failing Android tablet market? Have you tried any of the recent Chromebook devices that try to fill that niche?

I've been saying year after year for the past 3 years that Chromebooks and Chrome OS are ahead of their time. But now you gotta wonder when IS "their time"?

A Chromebook still works great for my Dad and my grandparents and certain people in my life who don't need a full fledged computer. But I still haven't been able to recommend them to regular people for daily use.

Hi MKBHD,

If DBrand started making skins to cover your body, what color would you choose and why?

Blue (da ba dee)

What is, in your wildest dreams, a piece of technology you wish existed?

Batteries that recharge "instantly" or last forever. Whether in smartphones, laptops, or cars.

Have any smartphone manufacturers ever invited you to participate in the product development of a new device?

Once, actually. I don't even want to say who it was, but it was more than 2 years ago at a CES and it was a decent idea but I had nowhere near the amount of time needed to put into something like that.

Maybe someday in the future.

What does the „K“ in MKBHD stand for?

The K is actually my middle initial, so it stands for my middle name.

So what is your middle name?

It's the one between my given name and my surname and I share it with a couple others in my family

Ka Kaapro Kaare Kabelo Kabir Kace Kacen Kacey Kacper Kade Kadeem Kaden Kadin Kadir Kadison Kadyn Kaeb Kaede Kaeden Kaedin Kaedyn Kaehleb Kael Kaelan Kaelen Kaemon Kaeo Kafu Kağan Kage Kagen Kahlil Kahlo Kahnyr Kahraman Kai Kaidan Kaiden Kailan Kailash Kailer Kaimana Kainalu Kainan Kaine Kainen Kainoa Kainona Kairo Kaiser Kaison Kaito Kaius Kaiyan Kaizen Kaj Kajus Kal Kalan Kalani Kale Kaleb Kalel Kalen Kaleo Kalford Kalib Kalil Kalix Kalle Kallen Kallum Kalman Kaltag Kalten Kalvin Kamal Kamari Kamau Kamden Kamen Kameron Kamil Kamren Kamron Kamryn Kane Kanen Kani Kanoa Kanwal Kanye Kapriel Karac Karam Karamveer Karan Karas Karch Karcher Karcsi Kåre Kareem Kari Karim Karl Karlin Karlis Karlos Karm Karol Karolos Károly Karsen Karson Karsten Karter Kase Kasen Kasey Kash Kashton Kasim Kason Kaspar Kasper Kassahun Kassidy Kassim Kasyn Katen Kato Kauai Kavi Kavin Kavon Kawika Kay Kayden Kayen Kayl Kaylib Kaylor Kayne Kayode Kaypha Kaysa Kaysen Kayson Kayvan Kayvon Kazik Kazim Kazimierz Kazimir Kazuhiro Kazuki Kazuo Kazz Kdie Keagan Keahu Keali'i Kealoha Kean Keane Keanu Kearney Keary Keating Keaton Keats Kedrick Keduse Keeandre Keefe Keegan Keelan Keelen Keeler Keen Keenan Keene Keenen Kegan Keian Keifer Keigan Keiji Keiman Keimoni Keir Keiran Keirnan Keith Kekoa Kelan Kelby Keldon Kelemen Kell Kellan Kellen Keller Kelley Kellin Kelly Kellynn Kelsey Kelson Kelton Kelvin Kelvyn Kemen Kemonte Kemper Ken Kenai Kenan Kencil Kendal Kendall Kenderick Kendon Kendric Kendrick Kendry Kenelm Kenesaw Kenji Kennan Kennedy Kennen Kennesaw Kenneth Kennett Kenney Kennison Kennith Kenny Kent Kentekee Kenton Kenver Kenya Kenyatta Kenyon Kenzo Keola Keon Keone Keoni Kepakiano Kepha Kepler Kerim Kermit Kerr Kerron Kerry Kerwin Keshaun Keshav Keshawn Keshen Kesiena Kessler Kester Kestyn Ketan Kevan Kevani Keven Kevern Kévim Kevin Kevon Kevork Kevy Key Keyan Keynan Keyon Keyshawn Kezian Kfir Khai Khaled Khalid Khalif Khalil Khamari Khan Khristopher Khushwant Khyree Ki Kian Kiandre Kiefer Kiel Kielan Kieran Kieren Kierian Kiernan Kieron Kierson Kiev Kijana Kikkan Kilby Kile Kilian Killian Kilo Kilohen Kilroy Kim Kimani Kimball Kimberly Kimi Kimmel Kimmo Kincade Kincaid Kinchen Kindin Kindred King Kingman Kingsley Kingston Kinkade Kinnon Kinte Kinter Kip Kipling Kippur Kipton Kiptyn Kiran Kirani Kirby Kiril Kirill Kirk Kirkland Kirkwood Kirosh Kirt Kit Kiyan Kiyle Kjartan Kjell Kjetil Klark Klaus Klein Kline Klyve Knight Knoah Knowlton Knowshon Knox Knut Knute Koa Koba Kobe Kobi Kobus Koby Koda Koden Kodiak Kody Koen Kofi Kogon Kohana Kohei Kohen Kohl Koichi Kojo Kol Kolbe Kolby Kole Kolin Kolohe Kolten Kolton Kolya Kona Konner Konnor Konrad Konsta Konstantin Konstantine Konstantinos Koray Korben Korbin Kord Koren Korey Korin Kornél Korosh Kory Kosey Kosmas Kostandin Kostas Kostya Kostyantyn Kota Kouki Kowen Koya Kraig Kramer Krasimir Kreed Kris Krisdapor Krish Krishna Krishnan Krister Kristian Kristinn Kristjan Kristóf Kristofer Kristoff Kristoffer Kristofferson Kristopher Krisztián Krisztofer Kruse Kruz Krystian Kryštof Krzyś Krzysztof Ksawery Kuba Kubo Kubrick Kubwa Kuldip Kullen Kumanosuke Kumar Kunal Kunta Kuri Kurt Kurtis Kushaiah Kutalmış Kwadwo Kwame Kwamena Kwinten Ky Kyal Kyan Kyden Kye Kyeden Kygo Kylan Kyle Kylen Kyler Kyllion Kylo Kymani Kynan Kyo Kyon Kyösti Kyosuke Kyree Kyrie Kyron Kyros Kyrus Kyrylo Kyson Kyzer

Am I close?

It's in there.

What do you think the next breakthrough feature in smartphones will be?

I kinda feel like wireless charging is ready for primetime. More smartphones are getting rid of certain ports, and charging is the last thing to go wireless.

Was there ever a point in your YouTube career at any point that you considered quitting?

Nope.

Do you get recognized a lot in public?

Not really - it's pretty rare. It mostly happens at tech-dense events like CES, etc.

Hey MKBHD, what hobby do you have that we don't know about? Love your videos btw!

Most people don't know: I've been a golfer for 13 years (since I was 10). My first 2 uploads to my channel were of my golf swing for analysis by random internet strangers. Have had a single digit handicap for a couple summers.

That's actually really impressive, maybe you can make a tech related golf video in the near future, I would love that

There's gotta be some golf tech out there

Why Spotify over Google Music?

I've honestly tried to switch before, but I mostly stick with Spotify because I have so many playlists built up that I can't be bothered to recreate in another service.

But I also love offline mode.

Marques, big fan! Two questions.

1. Why don't you have a Patreon or donation system of some kind, so supporters can support you?
2. What was your original plan for MKBHD.com, and why did it change? Did you find you didn't have enough non-video content, or did you just get bored of it?

You're my favorite YouTuber, thanks for doing what you do.

1: I have a "donate" link on my channel, but I don't expect people to use it much. My #1 rule on the internet is "Never charge for something that was previously free"

2: I originally planned to host all kinds of auxiliary content on the site, but pretty much found that there isn't enough of it to warrant an entire blog for it. Smartphone camera samples, for example, do just fine inside the video or on Twitter or Google+ ... so now the site is just a hub to point towards the social channels. Perhaps I'll find something cooler to do with it in the future.

YouTube has seemingly been very wishy-washy recently between shady practices, algorithm glitches, and random view drops. Do you have a back up plan if YouTube doesn’t become a reliable career/income?

At the end of the day my "will you leave YouTube" question comes down to the answer to the "where do you look for videos online" question.

Right now, where do you look for videos online? You go to YouTube. But if that answer changes, I'm happy to start producing for other places.

I just want to make videos.

I mostly go to pornhub to find videos online, so that could always be your fallback plan

*scribbles furiously on notepad

What was the most fun or interesting experience you've had reviewing a product?

Love this question! I'd say flying up to Canada to mess with drones with deadmau5 is tops for me.

What do you think the biggest tech trend/feature for 2017 smartphones will be?

For example, it seemed like nearly every phone in 2016 touted IP6X water resistance or a modular/expandable design and if a new phone offered neither of those features, it was considered a major con of the phone.

Thanks for your thoughts if you decide to answer, and I love your channel and crispy vids.

What I hope the answer is: outstanding battery life / quick recharge

What I actually think the answer is: a headphone jack

Hello Marques,

What is a category of products that you don't already review, but wish you could sometime?

This was asked last year! My answer was supercars. That's still my answer, but I'm way closer to that goal 🙌🏽

Did you ever take film classes? Or are you just that gloriously good at it because of genetics or something?

Neither. Just lots and lots of practice.

I went to an engineering school that happened to have a business school. Not much in the way of "film classes" over there, but if you shoot 800+ videos over the course of 7 years, you'll eventually start getting pretty good at it.

Hey Marques,

You mentioned that you might hire someone to work with you on your channel. What would he/she be in charge of if that ever happened? I assume you'd still want to be responsible for editing & shooting.

This is a list I've been working very hard on for the last couple weeks before I actually start the search. At the end of the day, I'm still going to be in "production" but I think the first person on board will be more of a "helping hand" for a B camera, behind-the-scenes setup, etc.

Hey MKBHD, what do you want to see in the second interation of the pixel this year?

Better build quality. The absolutely nailed the software, now they gotta absolutely nail the hardware. Plz

Least favorite part about youtube?

The fact that I only have to accidentally click 1 "reaction" video to fill my recommended videos for the next month with that garbage.

What happened to the iPhone 7 review? Can we still look forward to it?

The iPhone 7 final review fell behind a couple other videos, then along came the holiday gadgets and CES and time flew! So the new plan is a full sort of "6 months later" video now that everyone who's decided whether or not to buy one has made up their mind already.

People also don't talk a lot about how well smartphones age over time, so it might be time to bring back that "Revisited" series.

Do you think VR is here to stay or is it just a gimmick? What's your reasoning?

I think it's a really really really really really really cool gimmick. Mostly because the experience has to be built around VR, not the other way around.

Augmented reality, on the other hand, is looking like the future in my opinion.

If you had all the money in the world, what new crazy Google research project would you fund? (Like self driving cars, glass, tango etc)

Does it have to be Google? Because that Hyperloop looks pretty damn cool

Obviously you have a Tesla of your own, but what do you think the upcoming Model 3 will do for the electric car industry since it's a more modest pricepoint for the average person?

I HOPE the Model 3 helps to show that electric cars can be reasonable for the everyday person. Because right now the everyday person can't afford most practical electric cars. Chevy Volt is as close as it gets.

But because of how dope Model S has been, there's a lot of hype among people who want the same quality at a lower price. Fingers crossed it happens soon.

Hey Marques! You always wear dope hoodies, where do you get them from?

I literally buy 90%+ of my clothes online. Tons of good hoodies on Amazon, just gotta take an educated guess with sizing.

Do you ever feel pressured to give certain company's products good reviews to retain access to their pre released products?

Nope. I hope the best companies will take the early feedback/reviews and put that info back into their product, actually.

What happened to the Honey Cheerios?

They still lurk in the background if you keep your eye out

Did you have a job before making it big on YouTube?

Yup I was a caddy at a local golf course for 2 summers (loved/hated/loved that job) and I worked at the Liberty Science center for a summer too.

Hey MKBHD! What has to have been one of the most surreal experiences that have come from being a big YouTuber?

Neil DeGrasse Tyson interviewing me, instead of the the other way around

Are you excited to try out the Nintendo Switch once it’s released?

Also, has your feelings on console gaming changed in the past few years?

I'm sorta loosely interested in new console stuff. PS4 is my most recent obsession. 2K in 4K

Let's be real here, you're saying "I'm KBHD here" in all of your intros, right?

I've never heard that until now but I'm gonna start saying that on random videos and see if anyone notices the difference.

How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled

why would you gild that

Hey Marques,

where do you see yourself in 20 years?

The funny thing about that question is I'm 23 so I have literally no clue. If you asked me 10 years ago where I saw myself in 10 years I definitely wouldn't have said "full time tech video maker" so I'm basically taking a wild stab at it...

In 20 years I'll be uploading a video from Mars

Favourite Kanye album?

Graduation

If you didn't get the Tesla, what would you be driving?

No idea - nothing comes close. I'd probably still be driving my first car, a hybrid.

Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?

I think he'll say his "camera" or "video is bae".

video is bae

Hi Marques, who is your favorite service carrier and why? My favorite is T-Mobile.

I don't really have a favorite carrier because they all kinda suck in some way - but my current daily SIM is AT&T. It used to be Verizon for a couple of years but almost no phones that come out these days work with Verizon so it was a no-brainer to switch.

Hey Marques,

I’m a big fan of your tech content but was always curious about your Ultimate experiences. What was your favorite play/tournament/memory from your Ultimate career and do you still play?

Also congrats on making the 2016 MLU All-League First Team Defense! I went to HS with another member of that team!

Thank you! My favorite ultimate play I've ever made isn't on video, but I pretty much jumped over a kid in high school. But this was cool: https://twitter.com/mkbhd/status/716444321734664193

I've noticed that you frequently change the zoom between shots in videos. Just out of curiosity are you physically changing the zoom on the lens or are you cropping it in post because you have a huge 8k res to work with? I noticed this a lot in the smartphone awards 2016 and it looked like you would have had to get up and walk around the table for every shot if you were adjusting it physically it on the lens.

So for that video it's cropping. That video was shot on a prime with the camera out of reach, so any change in focal length was digital zoom. Gotta love 8K for that.

In other shots, it can change with a physical move though.

How tall are you?

6'3"

Who are some of your favorite YouTubers that I should be watching? Any smaller channels that deserve a shoutout?

I watch so many tech channels,. My favorite way of finding new channels is to search for something like "____ Review" (any device) then go to the second page and you'll find plenty of dedicated tech channels you've never seen.

Have you ever been approached about consulting/designing a phone for a manufacturer to be something close to your perfect smartphone? Any idea what that would look like in present day?

Do you ever anticipate that the focus of your YouTube Channel will move away from smartphones?

I know you’ve mentioned hiring people to help with your videos. Do you have a vision on how big of a company/operation you’d like to have?

Are there any significant challenges being based out of the northeast when a lot of tech companies are based out of California? (I know most major ones probably have NYC offices)

Answered the first one a little earlier

Yeah I think the channel will expand in a way that focuses on more than just smartphones. Obviously they're the core of the devices I look at most often, but there's so much more tech that's interesting and worth showing! Case in point: My last 2 videos are car tech

I plan on expanding veeeeeerry slowly and veeeery carefully. I could see it being a 2/3 person operation for the next couple years.

Being NYC-based has been great! Obviously LA is the YouTube capital of the world but there's plenty in the tech world that happens in NY so I don't have many challenges with that other than the tunnel traffic

How's Apollo doing?

Everything's fixed, so back to daily driver material

If you could change one thing about your Tesla, what would it be and why?

This legit too me longer than most other questions haha - I'm gonna go with the horn.

Favorite new tech from this years CES?

That Dell 8K display. I want to get my hands on it so bad.

Whats your favourite Subreddit?

I lurk pretty hard in r/teslamotors r/oddlysatisfying r/explainlikeimfive r/ultimate

What phones are you most hyped for this year?

The next Pixel, the 10th iPhone and Samsung's comeback

What camera's have you used over the entirety of the time you've been a YouTuber? I'm a freelance videographer and am always curious as to the tools others choose to use

HP Pavilion dv7t webcam

Sanyo Xacti CG10

Canon t2i

Canon 60D

Canon 5D MKIII

Canon C100

RED Scarlet

RED Epic-W

RED Epic Dragon

RED Weapon Dragon

RED Weapon Helium

Hi MKBHD,

I really like the production quality and insight of your videos. I’m starting to wonder if any of these videos are being sponsored though? Specifically, the Apple, Jaybird, Mercedes seem as if the companies may be paying you to cover their product? Is this occurring or are they just offering you early/exclusive access? If you do get sponsored to review a product, would you disclose within the video?

So I do definitely disclose every time a video is sponsored (meaning I was compensated for it). Legally you have to.

But sponsored MKBHD videos are extremely rare. Last one was the Google Store video. Last one before that was the Custom Live Cases video 8 months ago.

I always see comments on videos claiming I was paid to like something - if I got paid as much as I got accused of getting paid, I'd be in a different league haha

Something I get sometimes (like with Apple, Mercedes, Jaybird, etc) is early access, which technically isn't sponsorship, but I'm also disclosing that more often as well so it's clear.

None of this ever changes my opinion of their product.

Hey man. HUGE fan. I've got a few questions.

1. At what point during your Youtube career was your mind blown by all the publicity. I mean did you ever think EVER that you'd end up a HUGE youtuber?

2. Was it hard for you to record face-speaking videos (basically where you just talk about stuff) did you have to do a bunch of outtakes until you got it right or was it very fluid for you?

3. How Productive is it to be an Amazon Affiliate?

4. When and how did you meet the rest of the boys like: Austin Evans, Unbox Therapy, Linus, and Jonathan Morrison from---- Teedle-dee :)))) I love saying it like that Teedle-dee(tld)

anyway, love your vids. keep up the good work!

1: My mind was blown pretty early, but I think that helped me get used to the scale. When you have 0 subscribers it's pretty mind-blowing for 115 people to see your new video in a week. Picture 115 people in a room!

2: I did struggle with this early. For a while I stopped showing my face because I wanted the gadget to be the star of the show. But I also realized the importance of being personal.

3: Amazon Affiliates is about 15% of what I earn each month, so it makes perfect sense for me. Super unobtrusive and frictionless.

4: I've met all of these guys through events like CES and product launches!

When did you start using red gear and why. Also how did you afford it at the time?

So it started when I was shooting with the Canon C100 for about a year and loved everything about it. Except the lack of 4K. If only I could fine a cinema camera with colors as nice as the C100, dynamic range as wide but shoots 4K

Rented the RED Scarlet for a week and was hooked within 45 seconds of reviewing the first footage. There rest is history.