I know it's not Game of Thrones season, but some people are still watching HBO. It has some other stuff worth watching, I'm told. HBO's Android apps are getting some significant updates today with suggested series in search, as well as a ton of Android TV improvements. However, HBO's selection of apps is a little convoluted.

There are three apps from HBO, and they're all getting an update. The one you use depends on how you get your subscription and what device you're using. There's an Android TV app for GO with the following changes.

  • The search page now comes with recommended HBO series and movies.
  • Added support for Android TV Voice Assistant, so you can access playback controls and search using the mic button on your remote.
  • Added support for Android TV Launcher (Android 8.0 Oreo only), so you can continue watching series or movies in progress, straight from the Watch Next channel on your homescreen.
  • Watchlist now shows most recently added items first.
  • Various bug fixes and performance improvements.

The voice search functionality will be handy, but it's odd that watch next is limited to Oreo. There's almost no Android TV hardware running that yet. If you watch HBO on your Android TV via a NOW subscription, you can use the regular NOW app. This is the same one that runs on phones and tablets. The changelog for that one is the same as above. If you use HBO GO on your phone or tablet but not Android TV, you need the regular GO app. This one has a different changelog.

  • The search page now comes with recommended HBO series and movies. This is a real time-saver, so you can go ahead and rotate that frozen pizza halfway through cooking.
  • Watchlist now shows most recently added items first.
  • Various bug fixes and performance improvements.

The new features are at least consistent across devices. Grab the device that matches your subscription and device, and you should be all set with better search discovery and voice search.