Sky Glass Gen 2 and Sky Glass Air up the game for streaming TVs with these updates
Sky Glass Gen 2 is a full update of the original streaming TV with improved software, picture and better Dolby Atmos sound
Sky Glass Gen 2 is a full update of the previous streaming TV and I’m at the launch this morning. It’s available from tomorrow, 12 February and the pricing is staying the same as with Sky Glass Gen 1.
It looks very similar to the original with a 360-degree Dolby Atmos soundbar (including two new opposing bass drivers). Sky’s Entertainment OS is now Sky OS, with new updates (Sky says it has updated the original’s software over 500 times vs launch).
Sky also surprised with the announcement of the similarly-specified Sky Glass Air, which has the same screen tech inside in the same 43, 55 and 65in sizes. The main difference here is that there is no Dolby Atmos soundbar for those who want to add other sound gear.
These improved Quantum Dot TVs haven’t gone down the Mini LED or OLED route contrary to expectations, but Sky’s Fraser Stirling says the company wants to give the “best possible experience to the biggest number of people” – it doesn’t seem that interested at present in producing a more premium model in terms of display specification. So the display is still 60hz for example, whereas a lot of TVs are heading to 120Hz.
On the audio side, Stirling says that only 20% of people use additional audio gear with their TV, meaning that the overwhelming majority (80%) of people are “only getting half of the experience”. That’s the key appeal of the integrated Dolby Atmos speaker system.
The Sky Glass Gen 2 TV is available in only three colours this time, black, blue and white. Everything is colour-matched. Sky Glass Air will also be available in green, too.
Again, Sky Glass will be available on various plans with 24 month or rolling 30 day contracts or you can buy the TV outright from Sky or from Currys.
Sky also says that over 90% of its new customers are choosing Sky Glass or Sky Stream (though didn’t go more in-depth on the split). That means that only 10% of new customers are going for Sky Q, which isn’t that surprising when you consider the more appealing cost of, say, Sky Stream.
Sky Glass Gen 2 is also lighter than Gen 1 as it uses a different stand than the older model. The original was pretty heavy and Sky has also now added hand holds so it can more easily be picked up.
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
