Crash-prone HBO Max Apple TV app will be overhauled by end of 2021

The Apple TV app for HBO Max will be updated with a new version by the end of 2021, according to a report, with a WarnerMedia executive confirming the service's smart TV apps will be overhauled.

Since the launch of HBO Max, the app has struggled to work properly, with many users complaining about a variety of issues with the Apple TV app, and others. It seems that the parent company WarnerMedia heard the complaints.

The service dismissed its existing use of Apple's tvOS API as a backbone in favor of its own software in June. Since that release, there have been occasional issues ranging from an inability to use some Siri prompts, to closed captioning problems, and even the inability to fast forward or rewind programs, though gradual fixes have occurred since then.

A company executive told Vulture that a new and completely rebuilt HBO Max app will be rolling out across all of the smart TV and set-top box platforms it uses. "We're going to replace every single connected TV app in the next four or five months," according to the unnamed source.

The releases will start with Roku and PlayStation, while Apple TV users will have to wait until later in 2021. Mobile and web-based app changes are expected in early 2022.

"It will be wildly better than what's out there," the exec insists. "It will just work better across the board." While there is a chance of new issues arising with the rebuilt apps, the executive believes it will quickly become a more stable experience.

It is likely that the app won't look that much different than it currently does to users, but new features are still being planned to make the apps more "sophisticated and cool and sexier" to use.

10 Comments

22july2013 3725 comments · 11 Years

About 3 years ago

Can someone tell me why companies like this require a standalone app instead of using the built-in Apple TV app? I really don't know the reason, but I presume it's to spy on and track their users better than Apple allows.

mfryd 224 comments · 16 Years

About 3 years ago

22july2013 said:

Can someone tell me why companies like this require a standalone app instead of using the built-in Apple TV app? I really don't know the reason, but I presume it's to spy on and track their users better than Apple allows.

Here are a few possible reasons:
Integration with the Apple TV app only works on Apple TV. They still would need to maintain apps for other streaming boxes. An independent app reduces development time, and reduces maintenance costs as they can maintain a common code base across all platforms
Having the same app across all platforms makes it easier to provide customer service, Your agents only need to be trained for one app.
Having a separate app allows them to provide features not available on the Apple TV app. That can set them apart from competing services.
The Apple TV app includes content from competing services. This can lead to views preferring those services and canceling this service.

22july2013 3725 comments · 11 Years

About 3 years ago

mfryd said:

22july2013 said:

Can someone tell me why companies like this require a standalone app instead of using the built-in Apple TV app? I really don't know the reason, but I presume it's to spy on and track their users better than Apple allows.

Here are a few possible reasons:
Integration with the Apple TV app only works on Apple TV. They still would need to maintain apps for other streaming boxes. An independent app reduces development time, and reduces maintenance costs as they can maintain a common code base across all platforms
Having the same app across all platforms makes it easier to provide customer service, Your agents only need to be trained for one app.
Having a separate app allows them to provide features not available on the Apple TV app. That can set them apart from competing services.
The Apple TV app includes content from competing services. This can lead to views preferring those services and canceling this service.

Your points are somewhat fair, but I wish to make a couple of rejoinders.

For point 1, integration with the Apple TV app works across all Apple device (eg, Macs, iPhones, iPads) not just on the Apple TV hardware. That's a pretty big community. Probably 1,000,000,000 users, all of whom have the Apple TV app. By comparison Roku has a tiny 50,000,000 user base.

For point 2, while true, it's not the agents that the media company should be worried about - it's the users who pay them. I come to the Apple system for simplicity, and I don't buy from companies that tell me to learn a new way of business to use their service. Every moment that I used the Disney+ app I was frustrated. I kept saying to myself "How does this work and why did they do this?"

Point 4 doesn't seem to be a problem, it seems to be a solution. When I drive through a city, all restaurants tend to be next to each other. That's not bad for business, that's good for business. If it's offered through the Apple TV app I will know about it. If it isn't offered through the Apple TV app they have to reach me through ads, and I don't see many ads by virtue of the reason that I like to stream my media.

Are you denying that a standalone apps makes it easier to track users? You didn't refute that. I still suspect that that's the main reason. We may never know the true reason.

ArchStanton 200 comments · 3 Years

About 3 years ago

22july2013 said:

mfryd said:

22july2013 said:

Can someone tell me why companies like this require a standalone app instead of using the built-in Apple TV app? I really don't know the reason, but I presume it's to spy on and track their users better than Apple allows.

Here are a few possible reasons:
Integration with the Apple TV app only works on Apple TV. They still would need to maintain apps for other streaming boxes. An independent app reduces development time, and reduces maintenance costs as they can maintain a common code base across all platforms
Having the same app across all platforms makes it easier to provide customer service, Your agents only need to be trained for one app.
Having a separate app allows them to provide features not available on the Apple TV app. That can set them apart from competing services.
The Apple TV app includes content from competing services. This can lead to views preferring those services and canceling this service.

Your points are somewhat fair, but I wish to make a couple of rejoinders.

For point 1, integration with the Apple TV app works across all Apple device (eg, Macs, iPhones, iPads) not just on the Apple TV hardware. That's a pretty big community. Probably 1,000,000,000 users, all of whom have the Apple TV app. By comparison Roku has a tiny 50,000,000 user base.

For point 2, while true, it's not the agents that the media company should be worried about - it's the users who pay them. I come to the Apple system for simplicity, and I don't buy from companies that tell me to learn a new way of business to use their service. Every moment that I used the Disney+ app I was frustrated. I kept saying to myself "How does this work and why did they do this?"

Point 4 doesn't seem to be a problem, it seems to be a solution. When I drive through a city, all restaurants tend to be next to each other. That's not bad for business, that's good for business. If it's offered through the Apple TV app I will know about it. If it isn't offered through the Apple TV app they have to reach me through ads, and I don't see many ads by virtue of the reason that I like to stream my media.

Are you denying that a standalone apps makes it easier to track users? You didn't refute that. I still suspect that that's the main reason. We may never know the true reason.

"Are you denying that a standalone apps makes it easier to track users? You didn't refute that. I still suspect that that's the main reason. We may never know the true reason."

Well said. And to your point I pasted above, there's very little chance this isn't about user information, at least one of the main reasons. Monetizing user information is a big revenue stream add on with virtually no added op costs. Every added piece of information they can get on a user makes a more effective monetization.

Streaming is not a high margin business. Unless a streaming company can push paying subscriber numbers to big levels, profits are likely to be scant.
Netflix subscriber numbers are massively bigger than anyone else, over 200 million, and their pricing tends to be most premium. Until very recently they were single digit net profit margin. They've been able to get it just above 10% recently. Forecast suggests they will drop back to single digits (discounting to try to continue subscriber growth, growth in areas where pricing has to be lesser). Be sure that HBO is having to, like so many, squeeze revenue everywhere they can. The Apple platform tends to semi rain on that user info monetization parade.

davgreg 1046 comments · 9 Years

About 3 years ago

One of the reasons I dropped Hulu with live TV was after Disney took over the company they changed the app and it became a dumpster fire. This is more of the same.