Last month we reported that Max was making some big changes for former ad-free subscribers: When the service rebranded from HBO Max to Max in early 2023, Warner Bros Discovery said that if you were an existing ad-free customer, you would have all your features , including 4K and HDR, for at least six months.
Once those six months were up, Max inevitably decided to remove these features, so if you haven't upgraded your plan, you're about to lose your top-quality streaming. Now that it's December, change is coming.
The change affects the $15.99 subscription level, which no longer includes access to 4K and HDR streaming. If you want that, you'll need to upgrade to the 'Ultimate' plan, which costs $19.99 per month.
Improve it or lose it
If you don't do anything about your subscription, you'll continue to pay the same $15.99 per month, but you'll no longer get your 4K resolution or HDR on any of the top streaming services. You'll also lose another benefit: the ability to watch up to three streams simultaneously: the $15.99 plan for everyone else only offers two simultaneous streams.
Yet it's not all bad. You can still download shows to supported devices, like one of the best phones or the best tablets, so you can watch them without an internet connection.
As a result of these changes, three Max subscriptions are now offered, or four if you include the Sports Add-on. They are:
Max. with ads: $9.99 per month / $99.99 per year
Maximum ad-free: $15.99 per month / $149.99 per year
Maximum ultimate ad-free: $19.99 per month / $199.99 per year
All plans give you access to the same content, including the best Max shows and the best Max movies, but put limits on what you can do with them, so for example 'With Ads' gives you 1080p, as does 'Ad-Free', while 'Ultimate' gives you 4K UHD with Dolby Atmos (provided the show or movie offers it of course). 'Ad-Free' gives you 30 downloads and streaming on two devices; 'Ultimate' gives you 100 and four devices.