As stated on their own website, HBO Max is now Max. Max is a new, high-quality streaming service which combines the power of HBO Max, Warner Bros. and Discovery+. What does this mean? Well, nothing less than hours and hours of entertainment for every single member of the family (yes, including children, as shows like Sesame Street and Looney Tunes are being included in the catalog).
Whether you or your loved ones are into comedy classics like Friends, HBO originals like Game of Thrones or The Big Bang Theory, Hollywood classics like Harry Potter movies or more recent releases, you’re sure to find something that suits you the moment you adopt Max as your streaming app of choice. Its slogan says it all: Max is the one to watch.
What does Max have to offer?
- Endless entertainment: More than 2,000 movies and 1,300 TV shows make up over 35,000 hours of content. With so many options at hand, channel surfing will only be a distant memory.
- Availability on different streaming devices. You can watch Max on almost any device you can think of: phones and tablets (Android OS 5 or later, iOS 12.2 or later), computers (Windows 7, iOS), games consoles (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One), and others.
- Pricing options. There are three different plans with monthly or yearly billing to choose from: With Ads, Ad-Free, and Ultimate Ad-Free.
- With Ads: it’s the most affordable tier, and allows you to enjoy your streaming in Full HD on up to two devices simultaneously. It’s worth mentioning that Netflix might be a better choice if cost is crucial for you when picking a streaming service, as its basic plan is even cheaper.
- Ad-Free: it’s a bit more expensive than the basic plan, but the ads being removed are worth it. This package also allows streaming in Full HD on two devices at once, and lets you download up to 30 movies or TV show episodes to watch offline. For me, this is a pretty decent deal, since I appreciate good streaming quality and not being interrupted by ads.
- Ultimate Ad-Free: it’s a new package option with more benefits, such as streaming on four devices at the same time, 4k Ultra HD streaming, and up to a hundred downloads for offline viewing. If I had more time (and a bigger, better TV) to binge-watch all the shows and movies in My List, I’d definitely go for this plan. Right now, it’s a bit too much for me.
- User profiles: Max allows you to create as many as 5 different profiles per account. This way you can keep track of the shows and movies you’ve watched, save the ones you’d like to watch later, and also get personalized recommendations according to your interests. Adult profiles can be PIN-protected to prevent others from using it.
- Parental control: A very interesting feature is the inclusion of a default Kids profile, which can be set up to limit what children can watch. Enabling parental control prevents a profile switch by requiring a 4-digit parent code (Kid-Proof Exit feature).
There’s always room for improvement
As HBO Max rebranded as Max, many users reported some technical issues. Those who were already subscribers expected their apps to update automatically to Max, but it never happened. They had to manually download the brand-new app after getting a “Something went wrong” notification and no further indications on how to solve it. So, going from HBO Max to Max may not be as straightforward as one’d expect it to be.
As regards new users, some stated that the app didn’t work properly: login problems, constant freezing, restarting and slow scrolling were among the most mentioned issues. The company minimized the complaints, saying they were only isolated instances, quickly resolved. I guess that’s true because I was able to sort out the very few technical issues I had by following the troubleshooting steps available online.
My take on Max
If you ask me, I’d recommend you download the app and give it a go. See it for yourself! Its benefits outnumber the issues you may have with it. For me, Max is definitely the one to watch.
