WarnerMedia today announced that it will be rolling out a revamped HBO Max app for Apple TV over the next few weeks.
According to Variety and The Streamable, the new tvOS app provides much-needed performance and stability improvements. The updated app is said to look similar to the original version, but it will feature a new main screen view with a scrollable "hero" banner, a new "binge mode" with the ability to skip credits and automatically jump to the next episode in a series, and a simplified account sign-up and sign-in experience.
The new app will also provide users with a new "My Stuff" experience that lets users edit and sort their "My List" and "Continue Watching" lists.
WarnerMedia executive Sarah Lyons said the original HBO Max app for Apple TV was built on the same code base as the existing HBO GO and HBO Now apps in order to get the app to market faster, but the experience was subpar and led to widespread usability complaints from users. The new HBO Max app for tvOS is based on cross-platform technology from You.i, which WarnerMedia acquired in December 2020.
Tom's Guide's Henry T. Casey tested the new app and said it is improved:
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.
Overall, the new HBO Max app for Apple TV feels more on par with Netflix when it comes to loading times and navigation.
The updated HBO Max app will be rolling out into next week, so the revamped experience might not be available to all users immediately.
