HBO Max has made good on its promises to fix disappointing smart TV apps, and Variety and The Verge say WarnerMedia is rolling out an updated Apple TV app that addresses some of the most persistent issues, according to an engadged report.
The update is as follows: First, it’s finally built on a modern platform that should be more reliable than the relatively old HBO Go/Now framework, and you’ll also see a new homepage with a “champion” logo you can scroll to, the option to skip credits, and more control over menus. Monitor “My Stuff” and login facilities.
The new version should arrive on your Apple TV either this week or the next, and you can already find the framework in many other HBO Max apps, including Android, PlayStation, Roku players, and TVs from LG, Samsung, and Vizio. Similar renewals are coming for Amazon Fire TV and the web.
Apple TV had a lot of flaws as a result of WarnerMedia’s desire to expedite the launch of HBO Max, and instead of building smart TV apps from scratch, the media company reallocated the HBO Go and HBO Now apps to cut down on development time.
Although the company knew it would have to “re-platform” the app to update it and accommodate both international expansion as well as more content, according to WarnerMedia’s executive vice president, Sarah Lyons.
This hasty approach may not have helped HBO Max’s initial growth, and JustWatch estimated that the service captured just 7% of the global streaming market share in February versus Disney+’s 17.6%. While we won’t count on increased demand associated with new apps, it may help HBO retain subscribers who will be frustrated enough to leave.