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Sky just unveiled a brand-new version of its Sky Glass TV at a packed event in London. It's the first time Sky has refreshed the hardware of its satellite dish-less television since it launched back in October 2021.
The second generation Smart TV will be available to buy from tomorrow, February 12.
Orders can be placed on Sky.com, in Sky TV stores nationwide, and over the phone with Sky TV call centres. The new Sky Glass will be available from Currys.co.uk following a partnership with the brand last year, with 4K TVs available to view in-store in the coming weeks.
It's called Sky Glass Gen 2 and boasts several updates over its predecessor, including a brighter screen, more speakers for improved sound, a faster processor, and new colours.
Like the first iteration, Sky Glass is designed to make watching telly as simple as possible — everything you need to enjoy live television and on-demand boxsets is squeezed into a single device that needs just one wire to operate.
Despite the improvements made to Sky Glass Gen 2, there's no change in pricing. Sky Glass Gen 2 starts from £14 per month, with the option to add a rolling 31-day Sky TV contract or a 24-month contract for better value.
Fraser Stirling, Global Chief Product Officer at Sky and Comcast, revealed the new hardware on-stage at an event in central London
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Following the introduction of Essential TV last year, Sky TV bundles start from £15 a month. For that, you'll enjoy access to over 100 live television channels, including Sky Atlantic.
The latter is where you'll find the latest must-see dramas from HBO and Sky TV, such as House of the Dragon, The Last Of Us, The Day of the Jackal, Chernobyl, Euphoria, and The White Lotus, to name just a few. It also bundes a subscription to Netflix and discovery+. Given the former has just increased prices in the UK — and Sky shows no sign of following suit — the value of that deal has been bolstered overnight.
Key features of the new Sky Glass Gen 2 include:
- A brighter 4K Quantum Dot display with advanced HDR
- A wider viewing angle, so more people enjoy the best possible viewing experience
- Fine-tuned viewing modes, including Auto, Entertainment, Movies, Music, Vivid, Extra Vivid, and Sport
- Boosted seven-speaker system, comprised of built-in soundbar and dual subwoofer
- New upward-firing speakers off clearer vocals
- Certified Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision HDR
- Three screen sizes — 43", 55" and 65"
- New colour options: Volcanic Grey, Arctic Silver, and Atlantic Blue
- Colour-matched remotes and speaker fascia in the same colourways
- Simplified stand design with no-tool setup
- Hands-free voice control
Sky Glass can be fitted onto a wall using the bespoke mount option, which lets you tilt and swivel the screen to find the perfect position or push it back to rest flush against the wall.
If you already own a first-generation Sky Glass TV mounted on your wall, this second-generation telly can be fitted to the same kit for an easier upgrade.
Sky Glass Gen 2 design and colours
From the outside, little appears to have changed with Sky Glass Gen 2 — but that's by design.
Global Chief Product Officer at Sky and Comcast Fraser Stirling told the audience at the launch event that Sky Glass Gen 2 keeps the same frame and dimensions to maintain consistency between generations. It also means existing Sky Glass owners can fit the new, brighter model to the same wall-mount as the first generation.
The borders around the QLED screen are a little thinner this time around. It's also 5kg (11lbs) lighter than the original Sky Glass. This weight loss is down to the redesigned aluminium stand, which can now be fitted without any tools. It's also svelte enough to ship in the same box as the TV... something that wasn't true first time around.
"You can be watching in minutes," Fraser Stirling, Global Chief Product Officer at Sky and Comcast, proudly told the crowd at the Sky Glass launch event as he explained the streamlined new setup process.
While the outside looks largely unchanged, there's a lot to talk about inside this new custom-designed Smart TV.
This time around, Sky has reduced the number of finishes from five to three. If you're looking to upgrade to the Sky Glass Gen 2, you'll have to pick between Volcanic Grey, Arctic Silver, and Atlantic Blue
SKY TV PRESS OFFICE
Front-and-centre is an improved Quantum Dot display, which is backed by “way more LEDs” in a full-array backlight to bolster the overall brightness. Sky has also added more local dimming zones to improve contrast. During a demostration at the event, Sky showed a scene from John Wick: Chapter 4 with bright neon lights illuminating a dark room to showcase the improved separation between gloom and light in the same frame.
Sky stopped short of describing its new panel as mini-LED, so don't expect the number of dimming zones to provide the same viewing experience as that pricier technology. Nevertheless, the Sky Glass Gen 2 appears to offer a much improved panel compared to the first-generation model. These tweaks mean the all-in-one 4K TV can now support the Dolby Vision HDR picture standard.
Glass Gen 2 sticks with the same 4K Ultra HD resolution, which boasts 4x more pixels than standard 1080p HD. Sky offers High Definition (HD) viewing as standard with its TV bundles, but charges extra for 4K UHD. Some streamers, like Apple TV+ and Prime Video, include this top-end picture quality with all subscriptions — you'll just need a broadband connection that's fast enough to stream it. Others, like Disney+ and Netflix, charge extra.
Viewing angles have also been improved on the refreshed Sky Glass, which should ensure people scattered around the room can still enjoy a decent experience.
Aside from the changes to the hardware, Sky has also made some improvements to the software. Brand-new viewing modes fine-tune the picture based on what you're watching.
At launch, there's an Auto mode that'll intelligently switch between the settings in real-time, as well as dedicated Entertainment, Movies, Music, Sport, Vivid, and Extra Vivid modes. It's unclear whether these viewing modes will be coming to the first-generation Sky Glass in a future software update.
Sky Glass Gen 2 sound
Sky Glass Gen 2 comes equipped with a re-engineered sound system. Despite the overall footprint of the television remaining unchanged, it now boasts seven separate speakers, including a Dolby Atmos-certified soundbar, dual subwoofer for better bass, and upward-firing speakers to improve the vocal clarity.
Head of Partnerships in the UK for Dolby, Jane Gillard said: "We’re thrilled to continue ourcollaboration with Sky, bringing a new level of cinematic experience to the consumers’ home.
"With Dolby Atmos sound and Dolby Vision HDR, we’re redefining the way youexperience your favourite TV shows, movies, and live sports from the comfort of your home."
Sky Glass Gen 2 arrives with a re-engineered sound system that supports Dolby Atmos and squeezes upwards-firing speakers for the first time to improve vocal clarity
SKY TV PRESS OFFICE
Sky says the enhanced audio system creates a 360-degree cinematic sound experience, bringing everything from overhead helicopter sounds to stadium atmospheres into viewers' homes. In a demo at the launch event, GBN was able to listen the output from this redesigned speaker system and was impressed with the sound.
The speaker system built-into Sky Glass isn't designed to rival a surround sound set-up from the likes of Samsung or Sonos. According to research conducted by the UK broadcaster, 80% of viewers in the UK watch their favourite shows, films, and live sport fixtures using only the built-in speakers in their television.
If those viewers decide to upgrade to Sky Glass Gen 2, they'll unlock a sizeable upgrade with bigger cinematic sound and improved clarity — so you're not cranking-up the volume during dialogue scenes only to be deafened a few minutes later when there's a loud car crash or explosion on-screen.
Sky Glass Gen 2 sizes
Like its predecessor, Sky Glass Gen 2 comes in three sizes: 43-inch, 55-inch, and 65-inch models.
This time around, the engineers at Sky have reduced the number of colourways. While the first-generation Sky Glass was available in Ceramic White, Dusky Pink, Racing Green, Ocean Blue, and Anthracite Black, this time around there's only a choice of three finishes — Volcanic Grey, Arctic Silver, and Atlantic Blue.
According to Global Chief Product Officer Fraser Stirling, the company refined the selection of colours based on customer feedback from the initial model.
Sky will include a colour-matched remote control in the box with your Sky Glass Gen 2.
Despite the improved components, Sky Glass Gen 2 replaces the previously model in the lineup at the same price — whether you're buying the all-in-one television outright or with a monthly payment plan
SKY TV PRESS OFFICE
Sky Glass Gen 2 UK pricing
At launch, Sky Glass Gen 2 will cost the same as its predecessor. It's available to buy outright, or you can spread-the cost over 24- or 48-months with an interest-free payment plan. Here's the UK pricing for Sky Glass Gen 2:
- 43" | £699 outright | £14 per month over 48-months
- 55" | £949 outright | £19 per month over 48-months
- 65" | £1,199 outright | £24 per month over 48-months
According to Sky, those prices represent a 30% saving compared with buying a comparable QLED 4K television and soundbar individually. However, we'll need to do some calculations ourselves to verify that. TV subscriptions are available with either a 24-month contract for the best price or a 31-day rolling contract for more flexibility.
There's an aerial socket in the back of Sky Glass Gen 2 — alongside 4x HDMI ports — that lets you stream free-to-air channels even if you don't subscribe to a Sky TV bundle. Even if your subscription to Sky TV lapses, it's possible to watch using the built-in streaming apps, like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, My5, Netflix, Prime Video, and more.
Commenting on the launch, Fraser Stirling said: “We built Sky Glass as a brilliantly simple way for people to watch TV, making it easier to find the things they love from Sky and streaming apps.
"The new Sky Glass Gen 2 gives people our best TV experience yet, with a brighter picture and even more cinematic sound, and with flexible ways to buy it, it's more affordable than ever to get Sky TV.”
Sky Stream has never been this affordable. The broadcaster has just launched an affordable new bundle of channels and on-demand services, dubbed TV Essentials. It includes its plug-and-play Sky Stream box, over 100 live channels including Sky Atlantic — the exclusive home of shows like Game of Thrones, And Just Like That, and The White Lotus. You'll also find a subscription to Netflix and Discovery+ included too and can upgrade to Sky Cinema and Sky Sports at an extra cost.
Sky Stream
£15
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