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HBO Max; another streaming service battling Netflix, Amazon, Disney and Hulu for your attention.
And although they have a catalogue of content that people love—like Game of Thrones—their app is the worst-rated across both the Apple and Google app stores.
Review on IOS: "Content is great, app is embarrassing"
From what I can tell, that quote is fairly representative of the public consensus—backed up by more than 30 million ratings, across the 8 major streaming services.
Here's how they compare:
* This Apple TV result appears to be a mixture of biased ratings, and genuine compatibility problems with unusual Android devices.
What's interesting though, is that despite surplus user feedback condemning the app, the overall experience is actually quite good.
Instead, as you'll see throughout this case study, the app suffers from poor UX judgement, a lack of finesse and a focus on style over function.
And without that specificity, product managers may be overwhelmed by the volume of negative feedback.
Here's exactly what's wrong, and what you can learn from it.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points
HBO Max; another streaming service battling Netflix, Amazon, Disney and Hulu for your attention.
And although they have a catalogue of content that people love—like Game of Thrones—their app is the worst-rated across both the Apple and Google app stores.
Review on IOS: "Content is great, app is embarrassing"
From what I can tell, that quote is fairly representative of the public consensus—backed up by more than 30 million ratings, across the 8 major streaming services.
Here's how they compare:
* This Apple TV result appears to be a mixture of biased ratings, and genuine compatibility problems with unusual Android devices.
What's interesting though, is that despite surplus user feedback condemning the app, the overall experience is actually quite good.
Instead, as you'll see throughout this case study, the app suffers from poor UX judgement, a lack of finesse and a focus on style over function.
And without that specificity, product managers may be overwhelmed by the volume of negative feedback.
Here's exactly what's wrong, and what you can learn from it.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points