Update: Integration with the Apple TV “Up Next” queue appears to be supported by Max but is not working for many users right now. Hopefully, this is a server-side bug that the company is working to address.
The app also apparently uses the tvOS video player, but all of the first-party tvOS features have been disabled.
As expected, HBO Max has officially rebranded to just “Max,” following Warner Bros. Discovery’s announcement last month. The service ditches the iconic HBO name and pulls in content from HBO Max and Discovery+, creating a unified “Max” app that replaces the previous standalone apps.
That “Max” app, however, is already facing criticism from many users – especially Apple TV users.
As outlined by friend-of-the-site Sigmund Judge on Twitter, the new Max app for Apple TV switches away from Apple’s native video player. Instead, the app uses a custom video player that’s inconsistent with the rest of the Apple TV experience.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because the same exact thing happened with the HBO Max app back in 2021. The HBO Max app for Apple TV was updated to use a custom video player, replacing the native tvOS video player. After blowback from customers, HBO reverted this decision and rolled back to the native tvOS video player.
History, however, repeats itself with the launch of Max this week. The new Max app uses a wholly custom video player that lacks support for a number of native Apple TV and tvOS features. As Sigmund highlights on Twitter, this includes the Siri Remote’s “jog wheel” functionality for jumping forwards and backwards in a video.
Here are just a few of the other missing features in the new Max app for Apple TV:
- “What did he/she/they say?”
- Picture In Picture
- System wide audio/ subtitle preferences
- Reduce Loud Sounds
- Dim Flashing Lights
- Up Next
On Reddit, users say that HDR and Dolby Vision are completely broken in the version of the Max app that was released today. Support for matching content frame rate is also missing.
Top comment by fbQoPaiw
Apple needs to come down hard on these content providers ruining the UX on Apple TV. YouTube, Youtube TV and HBO Max are among the worst offenders. Users need a consistent experience across the board and not have to learn different navigation interactions for each app. The HBO Max app is the only app I’ve ever had to uninstall and reinstall to get it to work. This has happened several times over the past several years.
Essentially Apple needs to say ‘Either utilize our tools, APIs, and follow the design guidelines or we are going to pull the app.’
Because Jobs was so feared and obsessive about the customer experience, he would have made that happen. Under Cook, it’s well we are making money so who cares.
The lack of TV app integration for Apple’s “Up Next” system-wide queuing feature is incredibly disappointing. This is something that the previous HBO Max app did support, so it’s yet another major regression in this new Max app.
Max also isn’t available via Apple TV Channels, a feature in Apple’s TV app that allows you to subscribe to streaming services directly in the TV app. This comes with several benefits, such as billing through Apple and the ability to easily drop and add subscriptions. HBO Max dropped support for Apple TV Channels back in 2021.
As of right now, Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t commented on the issues plaguing the Max launch for Apple TV users.
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