Three years ago, Sky took its first step towards a dish-free future, with Sky Glass, a streaming TV that runs over wifi, ditching the need for a satellite dish. While it was a masterstroke for the company, we always felt its specs were a little lacking.
Now, the second-generation model is here, and its promising better picture quality, sound and a more refined design, fixing all the niggles we had with the first-generation TV. Surprisingly, it’s launching at the same affordable price as its predecessor.
Available from today (12 February), the second-generation Sky Glass TV comes in three different screen sizes (43in, 55in and 65in), and prices start at just £14 per month for the TV itself, with TV packages starting from £15. That means you’ll pay just £29 per month altogether.
Sky is also expected to launch a thinner version of the Sky Glass – called the Sky Glass Air – later this year. We’ve got all the details on the new Sky Glass TV below but, if you prefer picking your own TV from a manufacturer such as Samsung or LG, we still recommend getting the Sky Stream box, which is cheaper, at just £15 per month.
Sky Glass Gen 2: From £29 per month, Sky.com
The Sky Glass Gen 2 is Sky’s latest streaming TV. Just like the original model, it works over your wifi connection, so you don’t need to get someone to clamber up on the top of your roof to install a satellite dish or pay an installation fee to get an engineer to thread wires through your home.
How does it differ to the first-generation Sky Glass, though? While it looks broadly the same – yes, that means it’s still pretty chunky – it’s a lot lighter. Sky has also tweaked the design, so the TV is easier to set up when you take it out of the box.
It now just slots into the stand without the need for screws, and the new TV mount (sold separately) can tilt and swivel. You also have three colours to choose from – volcanic grey, Arctic silver and Atlantic blue – instead of five.
The biggest improvements are in the screen and sound. The TV now has an upgraded 4K HDR Quantum Dot LED (QLED) display, offering better brightness, improved local dimming, and more dimming zones to enhance contrast and detail in darker scenes. Viewing angles have also been widened, making the picture clearer from different positions in the room.
There’s also a new Dolby Atmos sound system, featuring seven speakers, including new dedicated up-firing speakers for enhanced height effects and dual subwoofers for a better bass response. Gen 2 still runs Sky OS (formerly Entertainment OS) but there are new picture modes for specific content – entertainment, movies, music, auto, vivid, extra vivid and sport.
We expected to see a price hike with all these upgrades but, thankfully, the Sky Glass gen 2 is the exact same price as the first-gen model. All the plans come with Sky Essentials, which includes Sky Atlantic, as well as Netflix with ads and a Discovery+ subscription. The 43in model starts from £29 per month, the 55in model starts from £34 per month and the 65in model starts from £39 per month. The cheapest contracts last 48 months.
Looking for more recommendations? Here’s our pick of the best 4K TVs
