The HBO Max app now has shorts, because why not
HBO Max has added a TikTok-style short-form video feed to its mobile app, joining Netflix and other streaming rivals in embracing the format for content discovery rather than as a standalone time-waster. The feature, called HBO Max Shorts, surfaces clips from the platform's library alongside trailers and bonus content, using algorithms based on users' viewing history, with the aim of steering viewers towards full episodes or series they can save for later.
The Shorts feature is accessed via a new icon in the app's bottom navigation menu and is currently rolling out to some iOS users in the United States, with wider availability across devices and markets promised soon. Warner Bros. Discovery is also introducing a "conversational search" tool that lets users ask natural-language questions, such as requests for a "girls' night in" film, though the company notably avoided branding it as AI, instead describing it as using "natural language understanding and semantic search." This search feature is currently available to US Android users, with broader rollout planned in future.
In short
- HBO Max adds TikTok-style short-form video feed to its app
- Currently limited to some US iOS users, wider rollout planned
- New natural-language "conversational search" tool launches for US Android users
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Streaming platforms contend that short-form content serves as an effective discovery mechanism, using algorithms to surface clips and trailers matched to users' viewing habits and guiding them towards full series and films they might otherwise overlook. They argue this format respects user preferences for efficient browsing and keeps their services competitive in an increasingly crowded media landscape where algorithmic content navigation has become essential.
The case against
Critics argue that such features represent a dilution of what made streaming services valuable—curated, quality long-form storytelling as an alternative to the fragmentary, engagement-maximising endless scroll of social media platforms. Rather than pursuing algorithmic engagement metrics through low-value clips, they maintain platforms should concentrate on their distinctive strength: offering viewers a focused, carefully selected library of complete stories designed to reward sustained attention.
Explained simply
Short-form videos are brief clips lasting just seconds to a couple of minutes, popularised by social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Streaming services are now adopting the same format, using short clips as a way to help viewers discover new content and decide what full programmes to watch.
HBO Max, the streaming service run by Warner Bros. Discovery, has now added a feature called HBO Max Shorts to its mobile app. The feature shows clips and trailers from the platform's library, selected using algorithms based on what users have previously watched, to encourage them to view full episodes or films.
Streaming services compete intensely for viewers' attention and subscription money in an increasingly crowded market. By adopting the short-form video approach used by social media, they aim to make browsing for content more engaging and to keep people using their apps for longer, hoping this translates to more viewing.