Sky Launches New Gen 2 Sky Glass TVs, With Cheaper Sky Glass Air Series To Follow

Three years after Sky revolutionized the TV landscape with its Sky Glass TVs, the U.K.’s subscription broadcaster is back to build on the success of that first ground-breaking TV concept with both a second generation Glass model with improved picture and sound quality, and an all-new Sky Glass Air TV range designed to make Sky’s integrated TV platform and uniquely powerful operating system more affordable.

While Sky wouldn’t be drawn on specific specification numbers, its Glass TV Gen 2 TVs use new screen hardware with more LEDs that demonstrations revealed can deliver more brightness, more contrast, a significantly wider viewing angle and richer colors. All of which help it get better value out of its support for the HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision HDR formats.

New Vivid and Extra-Vivid picture presets have been included on the new Glass, too, in response, Sky claims, to user demand for more vibrant settings, while a new automatic picture mode uses TV metadata to adapt the picture settings to suit the type of content you’re watching.

Sky’s picture enhancements with the Glass Gen 2 even extend to a built-in ambient sensor and dynamic gamma adjustment that enable the TVs to adjust their pictures automatically to compensate for different room lighting conditions.

The design of the new Gen 2 Glass TVs is broadly similar to that of the originals, in that the sets come in 43, 55 and 65-inch sizes, and are available in a variety of colors: Volcanic Grey, Arctic Silver and Atlantic Blue. This is a couple of colors down on the five-strong range of the original Glass range, but Sky says it’s learned from the most popular colors from the original range in choosing its trio of new options for the second generation.

The remote control for each Glass Gen 2 is finished in the same color as the TV you’ve chosen, too, while the included color-matched stand is much easier to attach than the one provided with the original Glass models; you just slot the TV onto the base unit’s metal prongs and that’s it. No screws or screwdrivers required. You can also buy a bespoke wall mount for the Glass Gen 2s, that tilts and swivels, or sits flush with the wall if that’s what you prefer.

The Gen 2 Glass models also still feature a felt cover over the soundbar that’s built into their bottom edges, but this is now finished as standard in a felt of the same color as the TVs’ main metallic bodywork.

New audio talents

Behind this felt cover is an all-new speaker configuration that includes a pair of angled drivers at each end to replace the side firing speakers that were built into the left and right side panels of the original Sky Glass. There’s a new bass-boosting dual subwoofer on the Glass Gen 2’s rear, too, that ups the overall speaker count to seven from the original’s six.

Sky claims to have improved the tuning of the sound system to make dialogue cleaner and better placed on the screen, while the grilled finish of the Sky Glass Gen 2’s left and right sides has been replaced by a solid matt metal finish that shows off each TV color better and looks both sleeker and more minimal.

The new second generation Glass TVs will, of course, continue to differ from regular TVs by providing every last minute of the hundreds of channels Sky carries on its platform entirely via streaming, rather than relying on an antenna or satellite dish. You can access pretty much any content on the Sky platform on demand, too, making the need to record things a thing of the past.

The second-gen Sky Glass TVs will also still carry Sky’s ever-evolving operating system, with its many unique, in-depth and personalised ways of finding and accessing content related to the viewing habits of different members of your household.

The original Glass has received more than 500 firmware updates since it launched three years ago, bringing constant performance and usability enhancements — an unprecedented level of after sales support and product improvement that Sky pledges to continue with the Sky Glass Gen 2.

Sky Glass Gen 2 will carry the same apps that its predecessor did, including Disney+, Prime Video, Netflix, Discovery+, YouTube, Paramount+, Apple TV+, making it a true home entertainment hub, with Sky’s content search and voice recognition features able to delve into many of these apps in search of content you want to watch.

As well as its all-important streaming support, Sky Glass Gen 2’s connectivity includes three HDMIs, one with eARC support for passing Dolby Atmos out to external sound systems if the 3.1.2-channel built-in Dolby Atmos speaker system isn’t sufficient for you.

What’s in it for gamers?

Gamers should note that like the original Sky Glass, the Sky Glass Gen 2’s screen only supports 60Hz refresh rates, so there’s no support for 4K 120Hz gaming. The Glass Gen 2 does retain, however, the low-lag Game mode that was eventually added to the Gen 1 Glass, and in defence of the 60Hz panel choice, Sky clearly had to make some tough feature decisions to deliver the improvements it has to the Glass 2’s performance without making the new models more expensive than the originals.

Keeping pricing the same means you can buy the new Glass Gen 2 series either outright (for £699, £949 and £1,199 for the 48, 55 and 65-inch versions respectively), or in 24 or 48 monthly instalments you can pay alongside your preferred Sky channel package subscription. The instalment options mean you can get the 65-inch for as little £24 a month, the 55-inch for as little as £19 a month, or the 48-inch for as little as £14 a month. The optional telescopic wall mount is £99.

If you already have a first-gen Sky Glass and want to know how the launch of the new second-gen Sky Glass TV affects you, check out this separate article by my Forbes colleague David Phelan.

While it was widely expected that Sky would launch a new Glass TV, Sky also surprised the assembled press at its Glass Gen 2 event by also unveiling a brand new Sky Glass range expansion, the Sky Glass Air. Available in 43, 55 and 65-inch screen sizes, the Air series is designed to bring the unique smarts of the Sky operating system to an even more affordable price point, with even the largest screen size apparently likely to be available for under £600 (though final pricing is yet to be confirmed).

The Airs will again be available in three colours, Carbon Grey, Cotton White and Sea Green, and will still feature 4K Quantum Dot HDR screens. They lose local dimming, though, switching to a global dimming system instead, while the built-in soundbar and multi-channel Dolby Atmos system of the premium Glass models is replaced by a 2.0 stereo speaker system. Keep an eye on my Forbes channel for more details on the Air range later in the year.

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