HBO MAX: Everything You Need To Know

The latest streaming service to launch, is HBO MAX. Which is really just an upgraded version of a streaming service that has been around for many years.

Basically, HBO MAX takes everything that HBO has, and everything that’s under the WarnerMedia umbrella and puts it into one streaming service, for the same price as regular HBO. Which makes it a really great deal, in itself.

HBO MAX launched on May 27, for a price of $14.99 per month.

What is HBO MAX?

As mentioned, HBO MAX is a new service from AT&T that combines all of the HBO originals with the entire library from WarnerMedia. You might be surprised at just how much content that WarnerMedia has under its belt.

This came from the acquisition of Time Warner a couple of years ago from AT&T. And combining it all into one service makes plenty of sense. So you’re getting the entire DC collection, as well as other hit TV shows that WarnerMedia has done like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and The Big Bang Theory, to name a couple. It also has everything from the libraries of TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, selected shows from Turner Classic Movies, and much more.

AT&T is also rolling out a ton of originals, though some were put on hold due to the pandemic, which stopped filming for a few months. Like the Friends Reunion that was supposed to be available at launch – which wasn’t.

What’s the difference between HBO MAX and HBO GO/NOW?

The biggest difference here is the addition of WarnerMedia content. HBO GO/NOW only features HBO content, so you’re missing out on a bunch of movies and TV shows that WarnerMedia created.

HBO MAX is honestly better than HBO GO and HBO NOW, as you’re getting a lot more content, at the same price. So one might wonder why HBO GO and HBO NOW still exist. Well we don’t have an answer for that, but we do expect that AT&T is going to phase those out at some point and stick with just HBO MAX. As that is what AT&T wants you using anyways.

It’s worth mentioning that if you do sign up for HBO MAX through your cable provider, like you could with regular HBO, you will only be able to access HBO content through their platform. You’ll still need to download the app to access all of the content that is available there.

Additionally, if you have HBO NOW already, you will see the app upgrade to HBO MAX. And you’re all set, you automatically get switched to the new service. If you don’t, you’ll need to end your subscription to HBO NOW and then sign up for HBO MAX. It’s confusing, but that’s the way things are right now.

What originals are available to watch?

HBO MAX launched with a number of originals. These include Craftopia, Legendary, Love Life, Looney Tunes Cartoons, The Not Too Late Show With Elmo and On The Record.

There are other originals coming throughout 2020, though the pandemic may have forced some of these to be delayed, since filming was stopped worldwide for a few months while everyone was in quarantine.

These include The Flight Attendant, The Friends Reunion, a new season of Search Party, Expecting Amy, Raised by Wolves and more.

There will be plenty more originals coming in the future too. As AT&T is investing quite a bit of money into HBO MAX and its original content, to keep users on-board.

Will movies be available on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters?

HBO Max announced in December 2020, that all of the Warner Brothers’ movies released in theaters in 2021 will be available on HBO Max on the same day. Again, at no extra charge. And you can’t watch these movies with a free trial.

This seems to be a temporary thing for HBO Max, as the pandemic is forcing most people to stay home and not go to theaters and watch movies. But this could become the new standard, if it proves popular enough.

Here’s the full list (with release dates) of when movies will hit HBO MAX and theaters in 2021:

The Little Things – Releasing on January 29, 2021
Judas and the Black Messiah – Releasing on February 12, 2021
Tom & Jerry – Releasing on February 26, 2021
Godzilla vs Kong – Releasing on March 31, 2021
Mortal Kombat – Releasing on April 16, 2021
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – Releasing on June 4, 2021
In The Heights – Releasing on June 18, 2021
Space Jam: A New Legacy – Releasing on July 16, 2021
The Suicide Squad – Releasing on August 6, 2021
Malignant – Releasing on September 10, 2021
The Many Saints Of Newark – Releasing on September 24, 2021
Dune – Releasing on October 1, 2021
King Richard – Releasing on November 19, 2021
The Matrix 4 – Releasing on December 22, 2021

The following movies are slated to be released in 2021, but WarnerMedia doesn’t yet have release dates for them yet.

Reminiscence
Those Who Wish Me Dead
Cry Macho

WarnerMedia has announced that it will stream 10 movies on HBO MAX the same day they hit theaters in 2022. However, those movies have not yet been confirmed. It’s unlikely to be all the movies that WarnerMedia will open in 2022 though. WarnerMedia is also committed to a shorter theater release time frame. Meaning that movies will come to streaming services much quicker, after leaving theaters. Than they did in the past.

Can I watch HBO MAX on Snapchat?

Yes.

In a new partnership that WarnerMedia and Snapchat announced on July 20, 2021, you can watch some pilot episodes on Snapchat. The list is pretty small at launch. But these are free episodes, so you can watch them even if you aren’t a HBO MAX subscriber. Here’s the full list of episodes available on Snapchat to watch:

Craftopia
Euphoria
The Flight Attendant
Game of Thrones
Genera+ion
Gossip Girl (2021)
Looney Tunes
Love Life
Lovecraft Country
Selena + Chef
Titans
Warrior
World of Calm
Betty – (Season 2, Episode 1)

How much does HBO MAX cost?

HBO MAX costs the same as regular HBO, which is $14.99 per month. And that right there makes it a no-brainer to switch from HBO to HBO MAX. Since you’re paying the same price, for a whole lot more content.

This is the same price everywhere, whether you sign up through HBO MAX or through a third-party like your cable/TV provider like YouTube TV. There’s no extra fees for not paying through HBO MAX directly.

There’s only one plan for HBO MAX, unlike Netflix. So you don’t get a choice to upgrade to better resolution (there’s no 4K right now anyways). Nor do you get a choice to upgrade to more screens. HBO MAX gives everyone three simultaneous streams. Which is right on par with other services. Disney+ gives you four screens and Netflix gives you between one and four, depending on your plan.

Update: On January 12, 2023, Warner Bros Discovery announced its first ever price hike for HBO MAX. Starting on February 11, everyone will be charged $15.99 per month for the ad-free tier. Ad-supported is remaining at $9.99 per month, as are the annual plans at $99 and $149 respectively.

Can I get it for free?

If you’re an AT&T subscriber, probably.

So AT&T has laid out who will get HBO MAX for free, and it’s the majority of its customers. Here’s how it breaks down for different AT&T customers:

If you have DirecTV Premier or Lo Maximo
If you have U-Verse U400, U450 or U450 Latino
If you have AT&T TV Choice, Xtra, Ultra or Optimo Mas plans
If you have AT&T TV Now
If you have DirecTV Choice, Xtra, Ultimate, Mas Ultra or Optimo Mas packages. (But you only get a year for free.)
Other plans may get it free for one month
If you have the AT&T Unlimited Elite wireless plan

These free HBO MAX offers range from one month to a year. So you won’t be getting it for free, forever, unfortunately. But that is long enough to decide whether you want to keep it. So there’s that.

How can I watch HBO MAX?

There are many ways that you can watch HBO MAX right now. It is available virtually everywhere.

Here’s a list of the platforms that are supported right now:

Amazon Fire TV
iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch with iOS 12.2 or newer
Android phones and tablets with Android 5 or newer
PC running Windows 7 or newer
Mac with macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or newer
Google Chromebooks
A web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)
Android TV
Apple TV (4th generation or newer)
PlayStation 4
Select Samsung Smart TVs
Xbox One
Chromecast
AirPlay
Roku
Select LG Smart TVs
VIZIO SmartCast TVs (Added on September 1, 2021)

There are a few other things that service is missing right now. Including 4K HDR, and Dolby Vision. WarnerMedia says that those are on the roadmap, so we should see them coming to the service in the near future. But those weren’t a priority for launching the service by May 27.

Where is HBO MAX available?

AT&T is rapidly bringing HBO MAX to all of the countries that HBO is currently available in. As of right now, it is available in the US, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, among many other Latin America and Caribbean countries. HBO MAX has not released the full list yet, unfortunately.

How is this different from AT&T’s many other streaming services?

AT&T has a lot of streaming services. And we mean a lot.

Most companies have one, maybe two services, but AT&T had at one point, seven. Now they’ve cleared out some, but there’s still quite a few. There’s AT&T TV, AT&T TV NOW, AT&T Watch TV and now HBO MAX.

The first three are mostly TV services. AT&T TV is very similar to a cable pay-TV service, but instead of needing a cable box, it’s done over the internet. AT&T still offers a box for everyone to use – it’s based on Android TV. But it’s most similar to u-Verse TV.

Then there is AT&T TV NOW, which is very similar in name and practice. Instead of needing that Android TV box, you can stream on any device. It’s very similar to YouTube TV. And it is the replacement to DIRECTV NOW.

Then there is AT&T Watch TV which is the skinny bundle, this costs just $15 per month for 35 live channels. And it does come in free with many AT&T wireless plans.

HBO MAX isn’t so much a live streaming service, but just a streaming TV service. It’s a service where you’ll be able to binge all sorts of content.

Not confusing at all is it? (yes, that is sarcasm.)