HBO Max launches new mobile app

Days after revealing that HBO Max is set to be shuttered in mid-2023 in favour of a combined offer with discovery+, the SVOD is getting a new mobile and desktop app.

While HBO Max’s content offering has been widely celebrated thanks to hit originals like Peacemaker and Hacks, the app’s architecture has been built on the crumbling foundations of HBO’s years-old streaming offerings. As such, it has consistently come under fire for technical problems – something which Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has highlighted.

However, while many may have been lead to believe that they’d be stuck with the temperamental app until the service is phased out, HBO Max has completed the roll out of a new user experience on desktop, iOS and Android Mobile devices.

The replatformed app moves all HBO Max apps to a new tech stack which includes features such as a shuffle button, support for SharePlay on iOS, a dedicated section for downloaded content and tablet support for both landscape and portrait orientations. 

Other features of the new app include an enhanced screen reader experience, the ability to split screens with other apps, updated navigation, improvements to Chromecast stability and an overall refined design. 

The launch comes ahead of the hotly anticipated Game of Thrones spin-off The House of the Dragon on August 22 and the season four finale of Westworld on August 14.

Kamyar Keshmiri, SVP, product design, Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming, said: “We are delighted to introduce the revamped HBO Max mobile and desktop apps. The changes give our users more of the features they care most about, along with improved navigation and a more immersive canvas for storytelling, helping them click play on their favourite content faster and with less friction.”