HBO Max review: Back to the old name, but still the same Max content

The home screen of the Max streaming app has Shazam: Fury of the Gods advertised.

HBO Max is now HBO Max, again, after its brief foray into just going by Max.

But regardless of the name, it is still our favorite streaming service. With a wide variety of content, including HBO shows, HBO Max originals, Warner Bros. Studios movies and shows and all the Discovery content, there's more to watch than we can even list here.

HBO Max specs

Library: 35,000 hours of content
Price: $9.99 - $20.99 per month
Devices: Android, Apple TV, iOS, iPadOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku
Simultaneous streams: 2-4 at once (depending on plan)
Streaming quality: HD (4K available at $20.99 price)
Parental controls: Yes

Of course, this all comes with a price, and that price has gone up over the years.

Currently, plans start at $9.99 a month for the Basic with Ads plan and top out at $20.99 a month for the Premium tier and its 4K streaming resolution.

But there is some good news. If you want to add Disney and Hulu to your HBO Max subscription, you can! There's now a Disney Plus, Hulu and HBO Max Bundle that gets you the basic, ad-supported tier of all three streaming services.

So let's dive into what makes HBO Max our top pick for the best streaming service.

HBO Max pricing and availability

HBO Max currently has three tiers: Basic with Ads, Standard and Premium.

Basic with Ads is $9.99 a month (or $99.99 a year). It comes with ads to bring down the price, and gives you just two simultaneous streams. It also caps your streaming resolution at Full HD 1080p.

Standard is $16.99 a month (or $169.99 a year). It adds the ability to download up to 30 movies and/or shows and ditches the ads (except in live sports). It also adds select live sports broadcasts.

Premium is $20.99 a month (or $209.99 a year). It boosts your streaming resolution to 4K and adds Dolby Atmos audio support. It also gives you two additional streams (you're still capped at two simultaneous streams for live sports) and gives you 100 downloads instead of just 30.

HBO Max supported devices

A long time ago, hardware support was our biggest gripe with HBO Max.

But thankfully, HBO Max no longer suffers from this issue. You can watch Max on Roku, Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, iOS, iPadOS, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as Chromecast.

HBO Max shows

(Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

HBO Max, of course, features HBO shows. That means acclaimed shows like "The Last of Us," "Succession," "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "The Wire," "Sex and The City" and "Insecure."

But, you also get unscripted shows such as the Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" and "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." There are also home lifestyle shows such as "Fixer Upper," "Diary of an Old Home" and "Maine Cabin Masters."

HBO Max movies

(Image credit: Jaap Buitendijk)

HBO Max draws in a wealth of movies thanks to decades worth of Warner Bros. movies. It also has some HBO Max original movies, but it's mostly Warner Bros.' new and old movies that you'll be watching

New movies tend to show up on HBO Max 45 days after their theatrical release, but that's not a hard and fast rule.

HBO Max content library

(Image credit: Max)

No streaming library impresses me as much as HBO Max's, but it also confuses me like no other.

35,000 hours of content is as dense as it gets, especially since it's from a combination of engrossing prestige TV and relaxing comfort food programming. Yes, while HBO owns Sunday nights, HBO Max is going to try and take your eyes every night.

Then, they just started canceling and deleting titles left and right, with the bloodletting beginning with HBO Max movies, and then moving onto HBO Max shows, and now two HBO shows: Westworld and The Nevers.

(Image credit: Henry T. Casey / Tom's Guide)

But you also get the most popular Discovery shows ... though they're also starting to disappear.

Still, even with shows and movies vanishing, more are coming in, so you're never lacking for something to watch.

HBO Max design and interface

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Discovery)

The thousands of hours of film and TV history contained within HBO Max can be hard to sort through, but improved personalized recommendations seek to fix that.

In the home screen, you get "lenses" for Movies, Shows, HBO and New & Notable, and scrolling down you'll find lots of curated content. Those sections include Featured Content and Just Added content.

(Image credit: Max)

You'll also see Brand Spotlights, which are hubs for groups of content. Those include HBO, DC, HGTV, TLC, Wizarding World for Harry Potter, Magnolia Network, Food Network and Discovery.

HBO Max performance and 4K streaming

So far, HBO Max feels fast and responsive.

To get 4K streaming, though, you'll need the $20.99 per month Premium tier. That tier will also give you Dolby Atmos sound and a couple of other perks besides.

HBO Max parental controls

HBO Max allows for 5 user profiles, which are classified as either Adult or Kid. Kid accounts give parents the control to limit the content a child can watch by the MPAA rating (G to NC-17) and those for TV (TV-Y to TV-MA). 

HBO Max verdict

As this HBO Max review explains, there's very little we're annoyed with, and it's mostly about some shows disappearing and some plans costing a bit more. The library is still strong, and the app seems cleaner and as snappy as ever.