I tried Max and it just makes me miss HBO Max even more
Opinion: Is Max what we want or what we deserve?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
HBO Max is dead, long live Max. The streaming service, which relaunched on May 23, has a spiffy new interface, tons of new content, and even a new font that’s most noticeable on the “M”. I’m not loving it.
Maybe we started off on the wrong foot. One thing HBO Max neglected to mention in the runup to this rebranding and relaunch: even if you’re already a customer and logged in, you still have to download a brand new app (on yourbest streaming deviceof choice) and log in again. If you have a name on your avatar, you have to re-enter it. At least Max has like a billion different show-related avatar characters to choose from.
I was also surprised to see myself as a “Legacy Ad-Free” subscriber. This identified me as a long-time paying customer, paying $15.99 a month (in the US) for ad-free content. The good news is that this means I still have4Kshows and movies. The really bad news is that this also means there’s a clock on that quality.
Six months from now it will disappear unless I pay $19.99 a month for “Ultimate Ad-Free.” I have no plan to pay this much. I know,Netflixnow costs just as much for a similar quality service, but they got there slowly and I’m allergic to big price bumps just to hold onto what I had before.
Max is very maximalist. It’s no longer the best place for the movies and scripted content. It’s the place for everything and every taste
The new Max interface is relatively clean and workable and it’s amazing how quickly I was happy to forget the older interface that I used for years. As with most streaming services, Max is now a combination of vertical and side-scrolling content.
Max front-loads For You. If you had HBO Max before, For You is based on your previous watching habits. I was pleased to seeSuccessionandBarrysandwiched between the now-finished (for the season)Last of UsandSouth Park(one of my son’s favorites).
The Featured section is almost all new content that appears to be a mix of new Max offerings likeGremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai(a cartoon for kids who probably never heard of Gremlins), and old Discover and HGTV content likeWindy City Rehaband The Property BrothersCelebrity IOUhome renovation series.
If I select ‘Series’ I see an entire section devoted to Food and Home. Considering all the similar content on Netflix, this should not bother me, but I think I have a sort of whiplash. The original HBO was a source of premium, scripted content, through its various iterations as HBO Now, HBO Go, then HBO Max.
On just Max, HBO’s premium position seems somewhat downgraded behind a mix of cooking, DIY and other less-premium fare.
Perhaps this is ameproblem and not ayouproblem. New Max customers may not even remember the days when HBO, with shows likeThe SopranosandCurb Your Enthusiasm,was only available with a cable subscription. This was long before content conglomerates sought to suck up every bit of IP across every genre and dump them all into one gated space.
Max is very maximalist. It’s no longer the best place for the movies and scripted content. It’s the place for everything and every taste. This new app and design have to carry a lot of water trying to make everyone feel like the service is built just for them.
The problem is that Max, even with For You, doesn’t feel like it was built just for me. I’m wandering around and spotting a lot more “Nah, that’s not for me” than “I’ve got to watch that.”
Netflix can feel like this too, but I never wanted HBO to turn into Netflix. Now it comes close, or something like Netflix but more or, um, Max.
I don’t hate the new Max and I’m just grumpy about the fact that even the stuff I like watching will, in 6 months' time, look worse because I don’t want to pay more. But what if I do fork over another $48 a year? Is Max worth it? Do I need all this extra stuff or would I be content to watch another season of Last of Us in 4K and forget the rest?
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
A 38-year industry veteran andaward-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.
Lance Ulanoffmakes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, theToday Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.
HBO’s hit Game of Thrones show is getting a movie – and it might come to a theater before you can stream it
Max shares first look at It prequel series Welcome to Derry and now I’m desperate for a trailer
Latest Google Pixel update includes surprise launch of Android 15’s best battery feature
