Watching Max with friends? One of the best features is now available to all ad-free subscribers
If you want to watch it again Barbietake an episode of House of the Dragonor watch Larry David’s Control your enthusiasm If you are traveling with a friend or family member from far away, but are not in the US, Max will grant your wish.
The streaming service is now rolling out support for SharePlay globally, allowing you to watch in sync via FaceTime or within Messages on devices like an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or even Vision Pro. This is excellent news, as Max has been lacking a feature set that other streaming services like Disney Plus have offered since it launched.
It first came to HBO Max following a 2022 redesign that was one of the biggest updates to date. Now, Max offers more subscribers, allowing you to start a FaceTime call while browsing content. Once you do, you’ll see an option to launch SharePlay under the Share menu. From there, you can send FaceTime invites or a text message inviting people to watch.
There’s a catch, though: you must be subscribed to Max’s Ad-Free or Ultimate Ad-Free tiers in order to use SharePlay. This means you won’t be able to use this new group viewing feature if you’re using Max with ads, and anyone you want to watch with will need to be on one of the supported tiers. You’ll also need to be using an Adult Profile and have a supported Apple device.
If you meet the requirements, this is a fun way to bridge the distance between friends or family and watch content you both enjoy. It’s also pretty easy to start one.
How to use SharePlay on Max
On an iPhone or iPad, open the Max app and find a title—such as a movie or TV episode—that you want to watch. From there, select that piece of content, click Share, and then SharePlay. Select your desired contacts and choose FaceTime or Messages. The first option calls the participants, and the second option sends an iMessage inviting them to watch.
Playback starts when you tap Watch Now, and then everyone in the call or SharePlay session can play or pause, fast-forward or rewind, and control the volume. Additionally, audio from the call will be mixed with the show or movie during FaceTime.
It’s pretty similar on the Apple Vision Pro, but what’s cool is that if you’re watching it via SharePlay with another person on the $3,500 Spatial Computer, you can watch it “together” via “Spatial Personas.” I’ve used this feature to watch a title via Apple TV Plus and for 3D playthroughs of battleships, and it’s pretty cool.
If you want to know more about Max and some of the latest titles, check out TechRadar’s guide to the best streaming services here.
