The rebranded Max streaming app lacks many features on Apple TV, including support for the native video player, Up Next queue, picture-in-picture and more.
- Warner Bros. Discovery on May 23, 2023 launched its rebranded Max streaming service that brings HBO Max, Discovery+ and other content, but people are noticing that the Apple TV version misses a bunch of essential features.
- For example, the app uses a custom video player that will challenge your muscle memory instead of the native tvOS one.
- Worse, Max for tvOS doesn’t integrate with your Up Next queue nor supports picture-in-picture, tvOS subtitles and other key features.
Missing features in Max for Apple TV
Evan Selleck outlined the missing features in an AppleInsider post based on tweets by Sigmund Judge. The video-streaming experience in the Max Apple TV app leaves a lot to be desired due to the lack of support for these features:
- Up Next: Similar to Netflix, videos from the Max app aren’t available from within Apple’s TV app. Meaning you can’t add your favorite Max shows to Up Next.
- Siri Remote: The jog wheel on the Siri Remote doesn’t work as expected in Max, meaning you can’t scrub through the video with a circular motion like a boss.
- “What did he/she/they say?”: Asking Siri this question usually prompts the system video player to skip 10 seconds and temporarily turn on subtitles. But yeah, you guessed right—it doesn’t work in the Max app.
- Picture-in-picture: This helpful feature lets you view content from the TV app in a small window while running another app. On tvOS, picture-in-picture is only available in the TV app. The Max app doesn’t support it, either.
- Match Dynamic Range or Frame Rate: You can set your Apple TV to match its video output to the original dynamic range and frame rate of the currently watched video. Visit as you may Settings > Video and Audio > Match Content to manage this feature, but it won’t work in the Max app. For example, if your Apple TV happens to currently output a 30 fps signal and you start a 60 fps show on Max, video output won’t automatically change to match the frame rate.
- tvOS audio/subtitle settings: Good tvOS citizens honor system-wide preferences for audio and subtitles, but Max isn’t a good tvOS citizen.
- Reduce Loud Sounds: It does what the name says—but not in the Max app.
- Dim Flashing Lights: Added in tvOS 16.4, this feature uses machine learning to detect flashing lights and stroboscopic effects on videos. It works by indicating on the playback timeline when flashing lights occur. But since Max uses its own video player, you won’t be warned about flashing lights in Max videos.
And it gets worse
That’s not the end of it. Sigmund spotted “many, many more” features missing from Max for Apple TV app, including some important accessibility options.
Here’s a look at how to use the jog shuttle gesture in the new Siri Remote. 😎 pic.twitter.com/IjX0jgHN0A
— Dave Mark (@davemark) May 26, 2021
For detailed information about Max, check out our Max Streaming Guide.
We’ve heard this story before
It looks like WarnerBros. Discovery hasn’t learned anything from past mistakes. The HBO Max service debuted on the Apple TV in 2020 with support for Apple’s native video player at launch. However, an update stripped away the native video player, breaking a wide range of functionality, only to resurface in another update.
If this example is anything to go by, it’s safe to conclude that WarnerMedia, the brains behind the Max app, is simply too sloppy when adapting to platform-specific features. And should this pattern repeat itself, we could very well see the native video player in Max for tvOS in one of the future updates to the app.