What you need to know
- HBO Max has a new Apple TV app coming within days.
- Early tests show that the new Apple TV app works well.
- The previous HBO Max Apple TV app was a disaster.
HBO Max users have been crying out for an Apple TV app that works and it looks like they're finally going to get one. An updated Apple TV app is rolling out over the coming days, and by all accounts, this one will actually work.
The problems that users have had with the HBO Max app have been well documented and we heard last year that it was going to get a complete rewrite in an attempt to fix the many, many streaming problems it had on Apple TV hardware. Now, our friends at Tom's Guide have been able to take the updated app for a spin — and it's all good news.
At the top of the list of improvements is the fact that it actually lets you stream content, something that you couldn't take for granted with the old app. That old app was based on the previous HBO Go app that it replaces. Not anymore, this new app is exactly that — new.
The Tom's Guide report was based on a few days of using the updated HBO Go app and initial impressions have been very good indeed.
The best thing I can say about the new HBO Max app is that I haven't seen the "Oops, something went wrong!" error — which often happened when opening the app after it being in the background — once since I've been testing it. That's been one of my biggest beefs with the app since it arrived, and to not encounter it in the weeks that I've had the app? That's a huge upgrade.
Speed has improved, too. Loading content and navigating around the app is said to be on a par with the likes of Netflix, which sounds promising. There's a new interface as well, seemingly designed to make it easier to binge content when you're so inclined.
Other improvements to note are that the app is more binge-friendly. This isn't something I found problematic before, but as I tested out with Our Flag Means Death, [Sarah Lyons, head of the HBO Max product experience] was right when she said "we fixed the binge-mode so you can more easily go from show to show," as I saw a nearly seamless transition, with a neat little countdown timer in the bottom corner.
All of that should be music to the ears of people who have suffered through the original HBO Max app on their Apple TV. We're told that the new update is coming over the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled. Who knows, maybe HBO Max will go from being a dumpster fire to arguably being one of the best Apple TV apps in the App Store. Fingers crossed!
