Update May 23: HBO Max is officially no more, at least in the US. Warner Bros. Discovery has replaced its high-end streaming service with Max. It has most of the same content as HBO Max did, but also has content from its Discovery Plus service. The service also has a huge library of shows and movies from Warner Bros. Discovery"s vast library. It"s just changing in the US for now, but Max will expand to Latin America later in 2023, and in other locations in 2024.
Today"s launch has not been a completely smooth one, with TheWrap reporting that some users have been unable to log into Max, or have experienced their app crashing. Hopefully, these are just Day One glitches that won"t persist very long.
There are three pricing plans for Max. The ad-based plan remains from HBO Max for $9.99 a month, with HD resolution and two concurrent streams per account. The ad-free plan also remains at $15.99 a month, but it is limited to HD resolutions and two concurrent streams, along with a limit of 30 offline downloads.
The third plan is called the Ultimate Plan. It costs $19.99 a month and supports 4K resolution with Dolby Atmos audio along with four concurrent streams and 100 offline downloads.
Speaking of 4K, the service currently has over 1,000 films and episodes in 4K resolution, with more being added every month. You can check out the entire long list at Warner Bros Discovery"s site, but it does include movies like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Dark Knight trilogy, The Matrix film series, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, and much more.
If you are already an HBO Max subscriber, your app will either automatically update to the new Max app or you will download the new app. Either way, current HBO Max profiles, account info, and more will automatically migrate to the new Max app. HBO Max users will be able to keep their Max subscription at the same price for at least six months after May 23.
If you have signed up to use HBO on your cable or internet TV service, you will still be able to get Max at no additional cost. While there will be Discovery Plus shows on Max, Discovery Plus will remain a separate service.
The new service will be the home for a number of upcoming Max Original series, including The Penguin, a spinoff of 2022"s movie The Batman. The service will also host new spinoff shows based on The Big Bang Theory and The Conjuring. Max will also be the home to a new series based on the Harry Potter novels, with each season adapting one of the fantasy books.
There will also be a new Rick and Morty series, but in a Japanese anime art style, that will debut on Max. Also, Tiny Toons Looniversity, a reboot of Tiny Toons Adventures, is on its way.