Well, the wait is nearly over. After teasing us back in February, Sky has finally announced that its budget-friendly Sky Glass Air will hit the shelves next Tuesday (June 10).
And at just £6 a month, it’s clear they’re going after the price-conscious crowd with this slimmed-down version of their streaming TV.
The new Sky Glass Air keeps the 4K Quantum Dot display and smart features of its pricier sibling but ditches the fancy Dolby Atmos soundbar in favour of a more basic 2.0 speaker system.
Running on the same Sky OS as Glass Gen 2, it brings together all your entertainment from Sky and popular streaming apps in one place, with no dish required – just a broadband connection and a single power cable.
Available in three sizes and three colours, it’s designed to be a more accessible entry point to Sky’s streaming ecosystem. But was it worth the wait?
From Satellite Dishes to Budget Tellies
For those who’ve missed Sky’s rather dramatic transformation over the past few years, here’s what you need to know: Sky Glass was their first attempt to drag satellite TV kicking and screaming into the streaming age.
No dish required, no box under the TV, just one power cable and your WiFi connection.
Later on, Sky released Sky Stream – which also lets you stream TV without a dish, but without having to buy a new TV, as it’s just a small box connected to your existing TV.
Despite my initial scepticism (and let’s be honest, the original Glass had some flaws), it seems to have worked. According to Sky, a whopping 90% of their new customers now choose either Glass or Stream over the traditional Sky Q box.
This February, they finally addressed some of those flaws with Glass Gen 2 – better picture quality (those murky blacks were definitely improved), a boosted seven-speaker sound system, and various other tweaks.
But the price remained firmly in the premium bracket, starting at £14 a month over 48 months.
Enter Sky Glass Air – the stripped-down version that’s meant to bring Sky’s streaming TV to the masses.
So What’s Actually Different?
The biggest change is blindingly obvious – there’s no fancy Dolby Atmos soundbar built in. Instead, you get a more basic 2.0 stereo speaker setup with Dolby Audio.
If you’re an audiophile, you’ll probably want to budget for a separate soundbar anyway.
Otherwise, much of what makes Glass, well, Glass, remains intact:
- 4K HDR Quantum Dot display (which should mean decent colours)
- Global dimming and contrast enhancement (though I’ll reserve judgment until I see it in person)
- The full Sky OS experience with voice control
- All your streaming apps in one place (those that work with Sky’s OS, of course)
It comes in the same three sizes as regular Glass (43″, 55″, and 65″), but with three colours – Sea Green, Carbon Grey, and Cotton White. Nothing particularly exciting, but they’ll blend into most living rooms without causing offence.
One welcome improvement – the ports are now on the side instead of being awkwardly placed flat against the back. Anyone who’s ever tried to plug an HDMI cable into a wall-mounted Glass (or even just on a cabinet) will know what a pain that was.
But despite the somewhat confusing “Air” name (which makes you think of those wafer-thin OLED displays), it’s not particularly slim. In fact, when mounted on a wall, it’ll actually stick out more than regular Glass due to its bumpy back design.
The Playlist System (Still) Isn’t Recording
Like all Sky Glass devices, Air uses the “Playlist” system instead of traditional recording. Press the + button, and shows are added to a streaming playlist rather than being recorded locally.
It’s fine for Netflix and other streaming apps, but for regular TV channels? It can be hit and miss. Sky does some cloud recording behind the scenes, but not for every channel, and some shows might vanish from your Playlist after a while (or not show up there in the first place – if the original broadcaster doesn’t make them available for streaming).
It’s one of those things that sounds great in theory but can be frustrating in practice, to those not yet used to streaming – especially if you’re coming from Sky Q and its proper recording capabilities.
Furthermore, as before, some Freeview channels are still not available via Sky Glass (or Stream).
Show Me The Money
Here’s where things get interesting. Sky Glass Air will be available from just £6 per month (over 48 months) for the 43″ model, £10 for the 55″, and £13 for the 65″.
If you prefer a shorter payment period, you can opt for a 24-month plan at £12 per month for the 43″, £20 for the 55″, or £26 for the 65″.
Or you can buy outright: £309 for the 43″, £509 for the 55″, or £649 for the 65″.
That’s significantly cheaper than Glass Gen 2, which starts at £14 per month for the 43″ model.
Of course, you’ll need to add a Sky subscription on top. The Sky Essential TV package starts at £15 per month (on a 24-month contract), which includes Sky TV, Netflix, and discovery+.
That means you could get a 43″ Sky Glass Air with a basic package for £21 per month all in.
For comparison, a 43″ Sky Glass Gen 2 with the same package would set you back £29 per month – so there’s a meaningful saving to be had.
Who Actually Needs This Thing?
After looking at the specs and pricing, I’m starting to see who might benefit from Sky Glass Air:
- People who want Sky without a dish but don’t want to shell out for Glass Gen 2
- Existing Sky customers looking for a second TV for the bedroom or kitchen
- Those who already have a decent sound system and don’t need the built-in soundbar
- Renters who want an all-in-one solution that’s easy to set up and move
But here’s the thing – you could just buy a decent 4K TV these days for not much money, slap a Sky Stream box on it (from £15/month), or just use Sky’s NOW streaming service – and get pretty much the same experience.
And that gives you the freedom to upgrade your TV in the future without being locked into Sky’s ecosystem.
However, I assume Sky conducted its market research and found an audience for this type of cheaper, all-inclusive Sky TV, just as there was for the original Glass. We’ll just have to wait and see…
If you’ve been eyeing up Sky Glass but couldn’t stomach the price, this more affordable option might be just what you’ve been waiting for. The core Sky experience remains intact, just with more basic sound.
But if you’re not in a hurry, I’d wait for the first full reviews to see how the picture quality actually stacks up.
Sky’s original Glass wasn’t exactly known for its stunning picture performance, and I’m curious to see if they’ve had to cut even more corners to hit these lower price points.
We’ll have more Sky Glass Air coverage in the coming days and week – so be sure to sign up for our e-mail newsletter.
Having had sky stream I’m not sure I’d want to jump into owning a glass… Moved back to Now + Freeview channels since Now announced 4K and Dolby Atmos and, tbh, don’t miss all the additional pay channels. Sure this is great for someone who wants all the additional channels but I just don’t watch them.
Doesn’t include broadband costs correct.
Because this isn’t exclusive to Sky broadband users. Can get your own broadband provider.
Also agree with first comment – would be more sensible to just get Sky stream box rather than the TV (unless you’re in market for a new TV as option to spread payments could be useful to some).
I would just use the sky streaming box. The Sky glass was a complete waste of time and money. I now have a 55” tv that i couldn’t sell if I wanted to as it’s no good to anybody else.
This does not include the broadband costa does it? If this is the case it makes this article slightly misleading
Since you don’t get broadband just for Sky’s TV (at least the vast majority of people won’t), it’s like saying electricity costs (for operating the TV) need to be included.