- Easy to setup and use
- Good remote
- Free-to-air TV guide integration
- Missing many streaming apps
- Laggy performance
- "Stack and Save" discounts are limited
A couple of months ago, former child star Jojo Siwa kicked off a press tour for her new song “Karma”, debuting alongside it a new look. Gone were the bright colours, bows and rhinestones—now, it was all black, leather, and… well, still rhinestones.
When asked about her new persona by one interviewer, Jojo Siwa uttered the now iconic words (well, to those of us who are chronically online, at least), “No one has made this dramatic of a change yet.” Ignoring the countless artists who paved the way for her, like Prince, David Bowie… hell, even Miley Cyrus, Siwa continued: “No one has made, in my generation, this extreme of a switch. And I am the first in the generation. It is very scary, but someone's gotta do it.”
When Hubbl, Foxtel’s answer to Chromecast, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV, was first announced last year, CEO Patrick Delany claimed it was “like nothing in the market”, bringing together free-to-air and streaming apps with “the world’s best user interface”. The only problem? It’s absolutely not the best user interface, and absolutely not “like nothing in the market”. It’s the Jojo Siwa of streaming devices.
Good intentions
Derivative though it may be, Hubbl does a pretty good job at content aggregation. It seamlessly integrates streaming services with free-to-air channels, courtesy of a handy live TV guide that slots in neatly amongst your usual streaming recommendations. It makes for a more holistic approach to home entertainment, and I can see it being a solid first streaming device for less tech-savvy family members who still spend the majority of their telly time watching free-to-air.
The home screen displays a bevy of content options across streaming and both live and catch-up TV, with the idea being that you can see everything in one place, rather than having to flick through all your apps to find something to watch. Each member of the household can set up their own watch list, however, there aren’t any individual watching profiles (at least, not outside of streaming apps that have that feature).
It’s clear that Hubbl’s aim is to simplify the entire streaming experience. Setting up Hubbl is as simple as plugging everything in, connecting to your Wi-Fi and logging into your apps. For free-to-air integration, you can use your existing aerial connection, or go fully wireless and watch your favourite channels live (or catch-up) via their respective apps. It’s easy to operate, too, thanks to the included remote which eschews the current trend of teeny-tiny remotes for a heftier, more accessible unit with big buttons that light up whenever you use it.
There’s also a feature that allows you to manage your streaming subscriptions in one place and even save a little cash if you bundle eligible apps ($5 if you bundle three apps, $10 if you bundle four, and $15 if you bundle five). Currently, the only apps eligible for Stack & Save discounts are Hubbl’s own Binge, Kayo, Flash and LifeStyle, and Netflix, and to include your Netflix account in the discount, you’ll have to cancel your existing subscription and resubscribe through Hubbl. Interestingly, these discounts only apply for the first 36 months.
It’s a similar offering to Optus’ SubHub, which allows you to save up to 10% off eligible services when bundled. However, Optus goes one further by putting no time limit on the discount and offering a much larger range of eligible streaming subscriptions.
Poor execution
Although Hubbl’s user interface is easy to use, it does have a few annoying quirks, like placing the “continue watching” section (surely the thing most people would want readily accessible) a number of rows below the fold on the home page, and the settings are buried even further down.
More annoying is the lag I experienced multiple times when switching apps or returning to the home screen. It’s not slow enough to be unusable, just irritating.
Still, Hubbl’s biggest crime is its limited streaming app selection. At launch, it came with Netflix, Binge, Kayo, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, LifeStyle, Flash, YouTube and the usual array of free-to-air apps. Stan recently got added, and Paramount Plus is listed as “coming soon”, but if you subscribe to BritBox, Hayu, Crunchyroll, Shudder or any other more niche streaming service, you’re out of luck.
Interestingly, Hubbl-owned services like Binge and Kayo do not use the same app you’ll find on your phone, tablet and other streaming devices; instead, they opt for a fully integrated approach. Perhaps this decision was driven by a desire to maintain a more unified user experience, but regardless, it’s a mistake. The standard Binge app, imperfect though it may be, has had years of updates to bring it up to a more user-friendly level. The same cannot be said for Hubbl’s native Binge app, which doesn’t even have a “continue watching” section. It also can’t pick back up where you left off on other devices.
Outside Hubble-owned apps, other streaming services and free-to-air apps are much the same as you’ll experience on any smart TV or streaming device, although they can be comparatively quite sluggish to navigate.
Hubbl - Final Thoughts
Hubbl is fine. It’s affordable, it supports 4K content, and its free-to-air integration will please those not quite ready to ditch the live TV experience altogether. I just don’t know why anyone would buy Hubbl when better alternatives (like the ever-reliable Chromecast with Google TV) exist for the same price, if not lower.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but like Jojo Siwa’s rebrand, Hubbl feels like the epitome of good intentions and interesting (albeit borrowed) ideas executed poorly.
Had Hubbl truly been the game-changer we were promised, or perhaps if it had been the first streaming device ever, I’d be more impressed by it. The problem is, everything it does, other devices do better.
Streaming and free-to-air content aggregation? Chromecast does it, too. Bundle-and-save subscriptions? Optus SubHub does it, and it offers more eligible services. Cross-subscription service search? Chromecast, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV do it, too. It’s hardly “like nothing on the market”. It’s like everything else on the market. Only worse
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Georgia Dixon
Managing Editor - Singapore
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