HBO Max relaunches as Max — here’s what you need to know

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Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is relaunching its blockbuster streaming service, HBO Max, under a new name on Tuesday, and with it comes a few additional changes, including a lot more TV shows.

The relaunched service, called Max, was officially unveiled in April and combines HBO Max and Discovery+ into a unified streaming experience.

“This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and Discovery+, to our broader content offering and consumer proposition. While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody,” J. B. Perrette, the president and CEO of global streaming and games at WBD, said last month.

Here’s what you need to know about the new streaming service, including how much Max will cost, the difference between its three subscription plans, and which devices will support the app at launch.

Max is essentially two apps in one: The former HBO Max streaming service and Discovery+.

Max launched on May 23, 2023, and it will take the place of HBO Max on most supported devices and app stores; Discovery+ will remain a separate streaming service.

The new Max app offers films from Warner Bros. Studios (including the DC Comics and Harry Potter franchises) alongside TV shows from WBD’s other brands, including:

Some third-party content, including Comedy Central’s “South Park” and “Awkwafina is Norah from Queens” will also carry over to Max since the streaming service is essentially replacing HBO.

Max will be available on all devices previously supported by HBO Max, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV (including Google TV), and Apple TV.

Most newer-model smart TVs made by Samsung, LG, and Vizio will also support Max, as well as Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Xfinity and Cox customers will be able to stream Max on X1, Flex, XClass, Contour 2, and Contour stream devices.

Beyond the TV, Max will be available as a download in the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads, the Google Play Store for Android-powered phones and tablets, and the Amazon App Store for Fire tablets.

Streamers can also watch content on the Max website.

On most devices, Max will automatically replace HBO Max on May 23. Some streamers might have to manually update the app or delete HBO Max and download Max from their app store.

Plan	Ads	Devices	Resolution	Downloads	Price
Yearly With Ads	Limited ads	2	Full HD	–	$9.99/month
Ad-Free	No ads	2	Full HD	30	$15.99/month
Ultimate Ad-Free	No ads	4	4K Ultra HD	100	$19.99/month

Max includes three new subscription tiers and different pricing compared to HBO Max. All three tiers offer access to the same library of TV shows and movies but with different features.

• Yearly With Ads: An ad-lite version of Max costs $10 a month or $100 a year. The ad-lite tier streams TV shows and movies in 1080p HD with 5.1 surround sound quality. Two people can stream Max content at once.
• Ad-Free: An ad-free version of Max costs $16 a month or $150 a year. The ad-free tier offers 1080p HD with 5.1 surround sound quality and allows for 30 offline downloads. Two people can stream Max content at once, and no commercials.
• Ultimate Ad-Free: Max’s “Ultimate” version costs $20 a month or $200 a year. The ultimate tier streams TV shows and movies in 4K (if supported, otherwise, in high definition) with Dolby Atmos sound and 100 offline downloads. Four people can stream Max content at once, and, just like the ad-free version – no commercials.

While 4K video and Dolby Atmos have moved to a more expensive plan, WBD says streamers who paid for the ad-free version of HBO Max will still have those features in the ad-free tier for at least six months after Max debuts.

Yes. All streamers with an active HBO Max subscription — whether monthly or annual — will convert to Max on May 23. All profiles, watch lists, usernames, passwords, and settings will automatically move to Max.

This includes streamers who paid for HBO Max through Amazon Prime Video Channels, AT&T, Cricket, and Hulu.

Additionally, subscribers who pay for HBO through some cable and satellite companies will also have access to Max. Those services include AT&T (U-Verse), Cox, DirecTV, Dish, Hulu + Live TV, Optimum, Spectrum, Verizon, Xfinity, and YouTube TV.

Support for other cable companies could be announced shortly after Max launches.

https://youtu.be/_C7QMnlDEAA

While the definitive number of shows and movies hasn’t been revealed, WBD executives say Max will offer thousands of film titles and hundreds of TV shows that span across genres, including action, comedy, thrillers, suspense, sci-fi, and more.

Discovery+ content boosts the number of documentary, reality, general knowledge, and lifestyle shows offered on Max, with programming from Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, HGTV, OWN, and others added to the mix.

Those with 4K-capable TV sets will like what Max has to offer: More than 1,000 film titles and TV shows will be available to stream in 4K immediately after Max launches, including all seven Harry Potter films, several Batman movies, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

To stream 4K titles, Max customers must subscribe to the “Ultimate” tier, which costs $20 a month or $200 a year (except ad-free HBO Max subscribers, who will have access to 4K video for at least six months after Max launches).

Originally, WBD said the new Max service would replace both HBO Max and Discovery+, but the company has since walked back those plans slightly.

While Max will offer TV shows and documentaries from Discovery+, the Discovery+ service isn’t going away anytime soon.

A subscription to Discovery+ currently costs $5 a month with commercials or $7 a month for uninterrupted streaming. WBD has announced no plans to raise the price of either tier.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.