HBO Max
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HBO Max is home to big-name shows like “Game of Thrones” and “Last Week Tonight.” Here’s how to watch it all on your Mac.
HBO is known for being home to some of the biggest shows on the planet. From “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” to “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Westworld,” there are plenty of fantastic shows and movies to enjoy in its catalog.
While originally a cable-only property, HBO has made a name for itself with its excellent productions. A move to the digital realm was inevitable, and it continued to thrive with a new audience that doesn’t necessarily have a cable TV package.
Although we’re referring to HBO in general, there are actually two separate offerings under the HBO name.
HBO, which previously used the HBO Now app and is still accessible through HBO Go on select devices, provides streams of all HBO hit series, including movies, specials and other content.
HBO Max is an expanded version of HBO, which adds more classic TV shows and blockbuster movies from the Warner Bros catalog, as well as Max Original programming.
Unusually for a streaming service, you might not necessarily have to pay for it. If you have a cable or satellite TV package with HBO, you may have access to the HBO or HBO Max streaming apps.
Of the two, getting HBO Max is better, simply because you get more content to watch, and at no extra cost. However, if you get free access to HBO by paying for HBO in the more conventional way, that will do for the most part without paying extra.
How much does HBO and HBO Max cost?
A subscription to HBO Only costs $14.99 per month. This includes all HBO original series and movies, with 4,000 hours of ad-free content, and most content in HD with some movies in 4K.
HBO Max is sold in two different tiers: with ads and without ads. With ads, it’s cheaper, but you’re limited to HD streams and can’t download shows to watch offline. Ad-Free includes select 4K movies, downloads, and streaming in other countries that have HBO Max.
With Ads costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
Ad-free costs $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
Considering the price difference, unless you can access it for free, it’s better to pay for HBO Max without ads than for HBO only. Both plans cost the same but HBO Max provides more content.
How to watch HBO and HBO Max on macOS
Although they’re virtually the same service, there’s a small difference in how you can watch HBO or HBO Max on your Mac.
HBO Max app
The easiest way to get started with HBO Max is to download the HBO Max app from the Mac App Store. Although originally designed for the iPad, it will still work on Apple Silicon Macs.
The app is 61.4MB in size and requires macOS 11.0 or later running on Apple Silicon.
HBO Max for macOS
Since it’s originally an iPad app, macOS’s interface is virtually identical to its tablet version. This includes the usual tiled menu for finding shows, search options, and media controls.
You can also configure up to five viewer profiles in the app, allowing multiple users to have their own progress records and recommendations. Download options are available, so you can watch shows and movies offline on the Mac, which is useful for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air owners.
Although you can purchase a subscription through the website, it is also possible to use in-app purchases to purchase subscriptions to the service.
However, you cannot use the app to watch on an HBO subscription only, only HBO Max releases.
In a browser
HBO and HBO Max can be watched through a web browser and with virtually identical means of access. Simply go to the relevant website, either HBO.com or HBOMax.com, and click Sign In at the top right of the page.
After authentication, you’ll be greeted with an interface quite similar to the mobile and macOS app for HBO Max, with media controls also available once you start watching content.
HBO Max running in Safari
According to the HBO Max support pages, you need a Mac running OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or later for browser-based viewing. Although you can watch it on a variety of browsers, the “officially supported” list includes the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox, and Safari version 12 or later.
Third Party – Clicker for HBO Max
While you can use the official HBO Max app or the browser, Clicker for HBO Max from DBK Labs offers another way to watch content on the service.
Clicker for HBO Max offers users a way to launch HBO Max directly from the dock. If you have multiple profiles on an account, Clicker can allow you to automatically skip the “Who’s watching?” screen and automatically access your profile.
Clicker for HBO Max
The app also allows for what it calls true full-screen video playback, as well as a picture-in-picture mode with video playback controls. There are options to quickly access content from the menu bar, and if you have a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar, you can use that too.
These options are customizable, so you can enable or disable features like automatic intro skipping based on your viewing preferences.
Clicker for HBO Max is available for $7.99 from the developer’s website.
