Max subscribers that signed up when the service was operating as HBO Max will soon find they have lost access to some premium features, including 4K and additional streams. While this change was announced during the transition from HBO Max to Max, some subscribers may still be unaware of the plan to remove the premium features.
When HBO Max became Max, Warner Bros. Discovery introduced a new Ultimate plan. This is the most premium plan offered by Max, and is the one new subscribers have to pay for if they want access to the most premium features, including 4K and the highest number of simultaneous streams.
For those that had previously been signed up to HBO Max’s Ad-Free plan, they were already getting 4K and the highest number of streams. Prior to the launch of Max, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed legacy subscribers would continue to keep the same features for a maximum of six months.
It is six months later and Max is now notifying existing subscribers that they will begin to lose these additional benefits on or after Dec. 5, 2023. As is usual the case with any changes to an account, the exact date will depend on the subscriber’s individual billing cycle.
According to the email, legacy HBO Max Ad-Free subscribers will see the maximum picture quality downgraded to Full HD (from 4K) and the maximum number of devices they can stream on at the same time limited to 2 (down from 3).
For those signed up to the legacy With Ads plan, they will also see the number of devices they can stream on at the same time downgraded to two streams. As they are already limited to FHD, they won’t see any difference to their maximum picture quality.
In spite of the loss of features, affected Max subscribers won’t see any change to the price of their plan. Instead, this will bring their legacy plan in line with the current price and features offered to those signing up to Max today.
For those that would prefer to have access to more streams and keep 4K support, it is possible to upgrade to the Ultimate Ad-Free plan, although that will also result in the price of the Max subscription increasing to $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year.
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