What is HBO Max Is it worth it Everything you need to know - Android
HBO has been the king of exclusive subscription content for nearly 50 years now, currently operating seven 24-hour channels filled with high-quality original and licensed content. The company took its first steps into the digital age with HBO Now five years ago, which laid the groundwork for a much-expanded service called HBO Max.
This service combines HBO’s impressive library of original shows and movies with even more content from its parent company Warner Media into a single subscription service. It isn’t cheap, but you won’t find many of these shows and movies anywhere else.
So what is HBO Max and is it worth your subscription? Keep reading for everything you need to know, or click the button below to start your free seven-day trial right away!
HBO Max is a streaming service from Home Box Office and its parent company Warner Media. It’s home to all of HBO’s premium TV shows and movies, as well as additional programming from the Warner Media library.
Subscribers can gain access to more than 10,000 hours of content, including HBO shows like The Sopranos and Game of Thrones as well as recent movies like The Harry Potter series and Studio Ghibli catalog. It’s also the exclusive home of the biggest show of the 90s and early 2000s: Friends.
The service first launched in the United States in May of 2020, largely replacing the company’s two older streaming services HBO Go and HBO Now. HBO Go has since become defunct, with HBO Now becoming the default HBO app on a few select platforms.
HBO Now used to be the only way for non-cable subscribers to gain access to HBO’s content, with cable subscribers pointed toward the (now defunct) HBO Go. With the release of HBO Max, all HBO Go subscribers and most HBO Now subscribers were switched over to the new service free of charge.
Learn more: HBO Max, HBO Now, and HBO Go: What’s the difference and what’s changing?
The reason why HBO Now still hangs on while mostly being overshadowed by the new service mostly has to do with backroom business deals. More specifically, Roku and Amazon could not come to an agreement with Warner Media about hosting the new HBO Max app, instead renaming the existing HBO Now app to just HBO.
If you’re not an existing subscriber or have no interest in streaming on a Roku or Amazon Fire TV device, HBO Max is the better service. They cost the same at $14.99 a month, but Max includes far more content from the Warner Media catalog, whereas the other includes just HBO original shows and movies.
Like most streaming services, all you need to do is access the service from a computer, phone, or other supported device, select the show you want to watch, and start streaming.
Both the web and app interfaces separate content into “hubs” like Cartoon Network, DC Comics, Studio Ghibli, and of course, HBO. This allows you to quickly browse and find the content you want to watch.
The media files themselves are kept on a remote server, and as long as you have a consistently good internet connection you shouldn’t experience any studders or pausing. HBO recommends a minimum speed of 5mbps for HD streaming, but you might want to step that up slightly for the best experience.
You can also download shows and movies to watch offline, but only via the official Android or iOS app.
HBO Max is one of the most expensive streaming options out there, which makes it a hard sell for many budget-conscious consumers. But if you want to decide whether paying $14.99 for is worth it for the service, you have to take into account everything there is to offer.
In Android Authority‘s own HBO Max review, we found that the amount of content on offer was impressive, especially compared to other streaming services. It has an excellent library of content for both kids and adults, with as well as a host of exclusive HBO series and movies.
HBO Max is more expensive than other streaming services, but it has the content to back it up.
Granted, most of these HBO original series can also be watched over the air on the subscription TV channels. The online streaming service itself only has a handful of truly original content (called Max Originals), such as Legendary, Craftopia, On the Record, and the Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo.
Content alone nearly makes HBO Max worth it, but our biggest complaints were the lack of 4K quality and, more importantly, device support. The fact that Roku and Amazon TV devices don’t support the platform excludes a huge portion of streaming enthusiasts. Hopefully, these companies and HBO can come to an agreement soon, but for now, it’s a major roadblock.
The good news is that if you’re on the fence about an additional streaming fee and already subscribe to HBO channels, odds are you can get HBO Max for free. With most cable companies, all you need to do is enter your details into the HBO Max app and you’re good to go. However, if you subscribe through another third-party service, like Amazon Prime Video, you’re out of luck.
Currently HBO Max can only be streamed in the United States, but international localized versions are scheduled for rollout starting in 2021. The first countries to receive HBO Max will be in Latin America and Europe, mostly to replace existing HBO streaming services that currently operate in a single market.
Until then, you can still stream HBO content on local affiliates. We’ll update this article as soon as HBO makes the service available in more countries.
HBO Max costs $14.99 per month, which is the same amount as HBO Now. This is significantly more than services like Apple TV Plus or Disney Plus, but it has much more content on offer. Click the button below to get started with a seven-day free trial.
There are a few ways to get HBO Max for free apart from the seven-day free trial. The first is by being a current HBO Now subscriber. If you’re already paying for HBO’s previous streaming service, you just need to enter your details and you can get HBO Max for no additional fee.
You can also (probably) get HBO Max for free if you subscribe to HBO programming through your cable TV service. HBO has agreements with Charter (Spectrum), Altice USA, Verizon, Comcast, Cox, and others. However, if you subscribe to HBO through certain third-party services like Amazon Prime Video you will not be able to use HBO Max.
HBO Max is also included with some AT&T plans free of charge. The service is currently included with the AT&T Unlimited Elite wireless plan, which runs $85 for the first line with discounts on additional lines. Certain AT&T TV plans, like AT&T TV Now Max and DirecTV Premier, also include HBO Max streaming.
Learn more: How can you get HBO Max for free?
You can sign up for HBO Max by clicking on the button below, or via the app on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
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