Not all apps are created equal and that seems to be particularly true of Max. A substantial number of Android and Google TV users have already taken to the Google Play Store to highlight their disappointment in the new app.
HBO Max officially became Max at the end of May, and for those that did immediately transition to the new app, there were some initial teething problems. While some of those issues have since been ironed out, it seems like plenty of users are still running into a number of problems when attempting to use the app.
Right now, the Google Play Store is riddled with user complaints about both the Android and Google TV versions of the app. There are so many bad reviews that it is actually difficult to understand how the app has managed to generate an overall rating of 4.6.
After reading through a good number of the most recent reviews, the general consensus seems to be that HBO Max offered a better app experience in general, leaving some to wonder why Warner Bros. Discovery bothered to launch a new app?
That’s in addition to wondering how the new, and originally promoted as better, version could be so problematic.
Some of the more common complaints we’ve seen include:
- Audio out of sync (something we’ve encountered ourselves)
- Continue watching not updating or inaccurate
- Draining battery too quickly (mobile)
- Frequently crashing
- Buffering
- Screen turning off (mobile)
- Sign in issues
- Issues with casting
It should be noted that not every Android and Google TV user is having issues with the app, as they are some four and five star reviews as well. From what we can tell, however, there seems to be a great deal more one and two star reviews.
In the image below, we’ve brought together a selection of user reviews from the Google Play Store to highlight some of the problems users are encountering.
All of the reviews shown above are from yesterday (June 5, 2023) and they weren’t the only ones. Here’s another set from yesterday.
For reference, none of these reviews were cherry-picked to specifically highlight any issues. Instead, they were simply the most recent twelve reviews at the time of writing.
It is also worth noting that it isn’t just the Android and Google TV apps that users seem to be having trouble with. However, compared to the App Store and elsewhere, the Android and Google TV apps seem to be resulting in far more issues.
Issues that are significant enough for users to head over to the app store and write a review about their experience.
While we haven’t encountered all of the problems mentioned by Android and Google TV users, one issue that we are continually running into on Google TV is the audio and video being out of sync. Skipping back 10 seconds normally fixes the problem for us, albeit only briefly, as the same issue tends to resurface every 10-15 minutes or so.
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