Verdict
The Sky Glass 2 is a solid iteration on the original, bringing welcome improvements to both picture and sound quality. It's an attractive proposition for those who want an all-in-one TV package with Sky built in, very much delivering on the convenience factor, while the ability to buy the TV on monthly payments makes it more accessible than other TVs. It has some limitations but if you're looking for a simple, convenient, and well-designed way to get all your Sky content and streaming apps in one place, and you have a robust Wi-Fi connection, the Sky Glass 2 is definitely worth considering.
Pros
- Better picture and sound than original Glass
- Easy to set up
- Single box solution and accessible monthly payments
Cons
- No controls for picture tuning
- Picture quality isn't as good as some other options
- Need solid Wi-Fi
Sky Glass Gen 2: Introduction
Sky Glass was first introduced back in 2021 as an all-in-one TV that promised to simplify your viewing experience by integrating Sky TV and negating the need for a satellite dish.
In Sky Glass, Sky also offered the opportunity to pay for the TV in monthly instalments alongside a Sky package, making it more accessible than other TVs by ditching the high initial outlay costs.
Four years after its inception, Sky Glass is back with a refreshed model: the Sky Glass Gen 2 as it is officially called. Sky Glass Gen 2 steps in with promises of improved picture and sound, but does it deliver on its ambitious vision? I’ve spent several months with the 55-inch model on my bedroom wall to find out.
Design and connections
- 43in, 55in and 65in size options
- Three colour options
- 3x HDMI 2.1 ports
I’m going to talk about design first because while TVs are generally big black rectangles that sit on your wall or on top of a sideboard, there are some differences in their designs whether you opt for Sky, Panasonic, Samsung or LG.
The Sky Glass Gen 2 maintains the same squared, industrial look of its predecessor and at 45mm thick, it’s quite chunky. I had the Volcanic Grey (black) model in for review, which only exacerbates the bulkiness, though the Arctic Silver and Atlantic Blue options are better if you want a softer look.
While the overall design of the TV remains similar to the original Sky Glass, the new stand is a considerable improvement. It’s a clever design where the TV slots onto two metal pegs that disappear into the TV body, offering a much cleaner look and quicker installation than previously.
The heavy bass plate makes it very sturdy, and the whole system feels well-engineered. Of course, you can also wall-mount it, as I’ve done, but note that the official Sky wall mount isn’t included in the box as it was with the original Sky Glass, costing an extra £99.
It’s worth mentioning the Sky Glass Gen 2 is compatible with standard mounts however, so if you already have a TV wall mount, you may not need the official one.
In terms of ports, you’ll find three HDMI 2.1 ports on the rear. The panel – which I’ll talk about in a second – is limited to 60Hz however, so there is no 120Hz or 144Hz support for modern gaming consoles or PC gamers, and no Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).
There is support for Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) from those HDMI 2.1 ports, which ensures a faster response time for gaming, but you won’t get a visual indicator that it’s active when you plug in a compatible device so keep that in mind.
There’s also no dedicated source button on the included remote with Sky Glass Gen 2 to switch inputs, so you’ll either need to head to the bottom of the electronic programme guide (EPG), or power the external device on to have the TV switch automatically. It’s not a problem as such, just a little less flexible than some other TVs.
Recent sources do appear if you go all the way to the left on the top rail so that’s a handy Sky Glass tip worth remembering.
Overall, the whole setup process is designed for convenience with a ‘plug and play’ approach that is really what makes Sky Glass Gen 2 appealing.
Set it up, turn it on, log into a Sky account and you’ll be knee deep in Sky’s wonderful world of content in a matter of minutes. Just make sure you have a good Wi-Fi connection – no less than 25 Mbps is recommended.
Picture quality
- 4K HDR Quantum Dot
- Viewing Modes
- 3,840 x 2,160 resolution
The Sky Glass Gen 2 boasts a 4K HDR Quantum Dot display with a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution. This isn’t an OLED panel, like some of the best TVs around and is instead a panel with Quantum Dot LED backlighting (QLED).
While QLED offers rich colours, and there is support for HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG here, it struggles with the absolute blacks and can exhibit some backlight bloom compared to OLED.
That said, there are noticeable improvements in the picture quality over the original Glass and while it doesn’t compete with higher quality displays, it’s still a decent experience. Sky has implemented better anti-reflection technology and a brighter LCD panel with more dimming control, which translates to better performance in darker scenes and improved black levels.
It’s definitely brighter than before, and in my bedroom, even in dark conditions, it looks good, whilst being bright enough to cut through window glare during the day. Turning off the auto backlight feature can also help further reduce reflections if you have a particularly large window nearby where you are putting the Glass Gen 2.
Viewing from an angle does result in a slight loss in picture quality, though it’s better than before and you probably won’t be watching at an angle most of the time.
Sky has revamped its picture modes too, offering Auto, Entertainment, Sports, Movies, Music Vivid, and Extra Vivid. The Auto mode does a decent job of adjusting the picture to what you’re watching, though if you’re someone that wants your TV to really pop with colour, you may consider switching to the Vivid or Extra Vivid. None of the modes apply when you’re watching Dolby Vision content, which is unsurprising as that would defeat the object of Dolby Vision.
It’s when watching Dolby Vision content where the picture shines on this TV too, thanks to the brightness increasing, so if you want the best picture Sky Glass Gen 2 has to offer, get watching something like Bridgerton on Netflix.
Aside from the modes, there aren’t many other options for fine tuning the picture. That won’t matter to some, but if you’re someone who likes to meticulously fine-tune picture settings, you’ll find the options minimal compared to other TVs here.
Sound quality
- Seven-speaker sound system
- Bass booster
- Night mode
One of the standout features of Sky Glass is its integrated soundbar, and the Glass Gen 2 continues this tradition with impressive results. It sounds great, and while I’d still recommend hooking up a soundbar, like the Sonos Beam or Sonos Arc Ultra, if you’re a real stickler for your audio quality, there’s plenty of punch from this TV. It’s certainly better than many TV’s out-of-the-box sound, offering a robust audio experience from a single box solution and for an integrated system, it’s commendable.
The sound system now features seven speakers, which is an improvement over the original Glass model, delivering greater height effect thanks to two top-firing speakers. Three speakers fire sound towards you, and dual woofers provide a decent amount of bass.
Settings are fairly minimal like the picture settings, but you do get a bass booster and a speech enhancer, which I think are useful additions. I’d recommend turning on the bass booster for movies, while the speech enhancer feature is good for evening watching when you perhaps don’t want to wake little ones but still hear what is being said clearly.
Speaking of evening watching, there’s also a night mode to reduce volume and bass in the evening, which I have had turned on for much of my review period as the Glass Gen 2 is in the upstairs bedroom. It’s also worth mentioning that sound is linked to viewing modes, and that results in Sport mode feeling more immersive, while Music mode is stereo and a little flatter.
SkyOS and experience
For existing Sky users, the SkyOS interface will feel instantly familiar and it makes the whole Sky content world very approachable. You’ll find various suggestions, and a series of rails including “Continue Watching” (though you can’t delete shows from it, which is my biggest bug bear), “Top 10 this week” as well as a section for apps and services followed by multiple additional rails highlighting content. There’s a lot of scrolling but during that scrolling, you will likely come across plenty of content you might want to watch.
Settings and search are located at the bottom of the screen, which is a bit of a pain to get to if you’re trying to address something quickly, but you can use your voice to get to them if you need to and I found myself doing that most of the time. You just press the microphone button on the remote and say “settings” or you can say “Hello Sky, settings”.
You can use your voice to search for content too and once you get comfortable talking to your TV as you would a smart speaker, it’s a good experience and the quickest way to access content. Sky occasionally has some fun tips and tricks for popular shows that are great to try out too, and if you lose your Glass Gen 2 remote, you can say “hello Sky, find my remote” to make it bleep.
Sky Glass Gen 2 supports a wide range of apps too, from Netflix to iPlayer, so there’s easy access to your favourite streaming services. Some play nicer than others, but the point is, they are all there. There’s no built in storage so you can’t record shows in the traditional sense like you can on Sky Q, but you can add content to Playlist for on-demand viewing and you can set up different Playlists for different members of your household.
Elsewhere, some features, like the wake-using-motion or “always alert” mode on Sky Glass Gen 2, are not ideal for a bedroom environment, as the TV can sometimes spring to life in the middle of the night when you throw an arm up in the air during disturbed sleep, but they can be handy in a living room environment.
For gamers, as mentioned above, the lack of 120Hz/144Hz refresh rate support and VRR means you won’t get the best experience from modern consoles, though you can connect them and use them with Sky Glass Gen 2.
Price and availability
You can buy the Sky Glass Gen 2 on monthly payments, which is its main selling point. It costs £14 a month for the 43-inch model on a 48-month contract, £19 for the 55-inch model, or £24 for the 65-inch. Those prices are doubled if you opt for the 24-month contract.
Alternatively, you can buy Sky Glass Gen 2 outright for £699 (43-inch), £949 (55-inch), or £1199 (65-inch), but if you were going to do that, you may want to consider other TV options that may have better picture quality, and pair it up with Sky Stream instead.
You get to keep the TV once you’ve finished your payments, but do remember you need to pay for a Sky TV package too. These start from £15 a month on top of the TV cost, and you can add on the channels you want accordingly, whether movies, sports, or Netflix and Disney.
Final thoughts
The Sky Glass 2 is a solid iteration on the original, bringing welcome improvements to both picture and sound quality. It’s an attractive proposition for those who want an all-in-one TV package with Sky built in, very much delivering on the convenience factor, while the ability to buy the TV on monthly payments makes it more accessible than other TVs.
It’s a little bulky and it won’t satisfy the discerning audiophile without an additional soundbar, the serious gamer looking for peak performance, or those after the best picture quality, but Sky Glass Gen 2 offers a surprisingly good integrated sound experience, a decent enough picture, superb ease of use and the seamless integration into Sky’s world of content
If you’re looking for a simple, convenient, and well-designed way to get all your Sky content and streaming apps in one place, and you have a robust Wi-Fi connection, the Sky Glass 2 is definitely worth considering.
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