HBO Max revamps its mobile and desktop apps - here's what's new

HBO
(Image credit: HBO)

The HBO Max apps for both desktop and mobile have received a major update and redesign. In general, the user experience across HBO Max has been updated to be easier to navigate as well as faster to find something to watch. 

Alongside these more general refinements, though, a host of new features and changes have come to the HBO Max apps. These changes are available across all the HBO Max apps for Android, iOS, and Fire tablets.

First, mobile users will now have access to a shuffle button, while tablets now have support for both landscape and portrait orientations. HBO Max now has the ability to split screens with other apps on supported mobile devices. Also, SharePlay support is coming to iPhone and iPad in the US.

Outside of just changes to mobile, a dedicated home for downloaded content (with better performance and stability) has been added alongside an improved screen reader. On the backend, HBO Max apps have moved to what HBO calls a 'more performant' tech stack, so this should mean a smoother, more responsive browsing experience.

All these updates to HBO Max come ahead of the release of the hotly anticipated Game of Thrones show The House of the Dragon which is set to premiere on 21st August, so if you're planning on watching the new show, these improvements have probably arrived just in time.

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Ruben Circelli

Ruben is a long-time freelance consumer technology and gaming journalist, and was previously a Staff Writer at What Hi-Fi?. Since 2014, Ruben has written news, reviews, features, guides, and everything in-between at a huge variety of outlets that include Lifewire, PCGamesN, GamesRadar+, TheGamer, Twinfinite, and many more. Ruben's a dedicated gamer, tech nerd, and the kind of person who misses physical media. In his spare time, you can find Ruben cooking something delicious or, more likely, lying in bed consuming content.