Sky Glass GEN 2

Sky Glass GEN 2: Introduction

Sky Glass was first introduced in 2021 as an all-in-one television that promises to integrate Sky TV and simplify the viewing experience by denializing the need for satellite cuisine.

With Sky Glass, Sky, along with Sky Package, offers the opportunity to pay TV in monthly installments, making it more accessible than other TVs by throwing out the high initial spending costs.

Four years after its inception, Skygrass has returned with a refreshed model. It is the officially known Sky Glass Gen 2. Sky Glass Gen 2 is stepping in with improved imagery and sound promises, but does it offer an ambitious vision? I was able to find it over a few months on a 55 inch model on the bedroom wall.

Design and connection

• 43-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch size options
• Three color options
• 3x HDMI 2.1 port

TVs are generally a big black rectangle sitting on your wall or sideboard, but there are some differences in design whether you choose Sky, Panasonic, Samsung, or LG, so I’ll talk about design first.

The Sky Glass Gen 2 maintains the same square as its predecessor, with an industrial look, 45mm thick and is rather thick. I had the volcanic grey (black) model for reviews, which only exacerbates bulkiness, but the Arctic silver and Atlantic blue options are better if you want a softer look.

The overall design of the TV is similar to the original Sky Glass, but the new stand is a significant improvement. This is a clever design that has two metal pegs that make the TV disappear into the TV body, offering a much cleaner look and faster installation than before.

The heavy baseplate makes it very sturdy and it feels like the whole system is well designed. Of course, you can also wall mount as I did, but please note that the official Skywall mount is not included in the box like the original Skyglass.

However, it is worth mentioning that the Sky Glass Gen 2 is compatible with standard mounts. So, if you already have a wall mount for your TV, you may not need an official mount.

As for ports, there are three HDMI 2.1 ports at the rear. However, because the panels speaking in a second are limited to 60Hz, modern gaming consoles and PC gamers don’t have 120Hz or 144Hz support, and there is no variable refresh rate (VRR).

There is support for automatic low latency mode (ALLM) from these HDMI 2.1 ports, which will give you faster gaming response times, but keep in mind that you won’t get a visual metric that you’re active when you connect compatible devices.

Also, the remote included in the remote with the Sky Glass Gen 2 for switching inputs does not have a dedicated source button. Therefore, you must either head towards the bottom of the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) or power an external device to automatically use the TV switch. That’s not a problem, it’s a little less flexible than other TVs.

Recent sources will be displayed. Go to the left of the top rail and you’ll find a handy Sky glass tip that’s worth remembering.

Overall, the entire setup process is designed for convenience with a “plug and play” approach.

Set it up, turn it on, log in to your Sky account and you’ll kneel deep into the fantastic world of empty content in a few minutes. Make sure you have a good Wi-Fi connection. We recommend 25Mbps or higher.

image quality

• 4K HDR quantum dots
• Displaying display mode
• 3,840 x 2,160 resolution

The Sky Glass Gen 2 boasts a 4K HDR quantum dot display with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160. This is not an OLED panel like the best TVs around, but instead a panel with Quantum Dot LED backlight (QLED).

QLED offers rich colours and supports for HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG are here, but it can fight absolute blacks and show backlight bloom compared to OLED.

That said, there is a noticeable improvement in image quality over the original glass, and although it doesn’t compete with the high quality display, it’s still a decent experience. Sky implements brighter LCD panels with better anti-reflective technology and dim controls, leading to improved performance and improved black levels in darker scenes.

It is definitely brighter than before, and in my bedroom it looks better even in dark conditions, but bright enough to cut off the glare of the windows during the day. Turning off the auto-backlight feature will help reduce reflections even further if you have a particularly large window where you place your Glass Gen 2.

Looking at it from an angle, there is a slight loss in image quality, but it’s better than before, so you won’t be able to watch it at an angle in most cases.

Sky has also revamped the photography mode, offering cars, entertainment, sports, film, music, music and vibrant music. Auto Mode does a decent job of adjusting the photo to what you’re looking for, but if you’re someone who really wants to pop in color on your TV, you might consider switching to something vibrant or vibrant. The mode does not apply when viewing Dolby Vision content. This is not surprising as it beats objects in Dolby Vision.

Thanks to the brightness, if you want the best photos when you see the pictures shine on this TV, and if Sky Glass Gen 2 has to offer, watch something like Bridgerton on Netflix.

Apart from the mode, there are no other options for fine-tuning your photos. It’s not important for some people, but if you’re someone who likes to meticulously fine-tune your photo settings, you’ll find minimal options compared to other TVs here.

Sound quality

• Seven Speaker Sound System
• Base booster
• Night mode

One of the outstanding features of Sky Glass is its integrated soundbar, and the Glass Gen 2 continues this tradition with impressive results. It sounds great, but I recommend connecting the soundbar like the Sonos Beam or the Sonos Arc Ultra, but if you’re a real stickler of audio quality, there’s plenty of punches from this TV. It certainly outperforms many TV outsoles, offering a robust audio experience for a single box solution and integrated system, and is admirable.

The sound system has seven speakers. This is an improvement over the original glass model, and gives the effect of height thanks to the two top fire speakers. Three speakers fire at you, and the dual woofers provide a substantial amount of bass.

The settings are pretty minimal like the image settings, but you get the base booster and audio enhancer. I think this is a useful addition. I recommend turning on the base booster for movies, but the audio enhancer’s functionality is good for listening to what is clearly said, although you probably don’t want to make small things happen.

Speaking of evening viewing, there is also a night mode in the evening to reduce volume and bass. This has been turned on for most of the review period as the Glass Gen 2 is in the bedroom on the second floor. It is also worth mentioning that the sound is linked to the display mode display, which results in the music mode being a little flattered in stereo, but the sport mode feels more immersive.

Skys and experience

For existing Sky users, the Skyos interface will quickly become familiar and become extremely familiar to the entire Sky Content world. There are various suggestions, including a series of rails such as “Continue with Monitoring” (I can’t remove the show, my biggest bugbear, but this week’s top 10″ and the apps and services sections followed by multiple rails highlighting content. There are plenty of scrolls, but during that scroll you will come across a lot of content you might want to see.

Settings and search are available at the bottom of the screen. This can be a bit painful to get there if you’re trying to deal with something quickly, but you can get it with your voice if you want. Simply press the microphone button on the remote and say “Settings” and you can say “Hello Sky, Settings.”

You can also use your voice to search for content. Like smart speakers, if you talk to your TV, it’s a good experience and the quickest way to access content. Sky sometimes has fun tips and tricks for popular shows that are perfect to try. If you lose your GlassGen2 remote, you can say “Hello, find my remote.”

SkyGlass Gen 2 also supports a wide range of apps, from Netflix to iPlayer, making it easy to access your favorite streaming services. Some people play better than others, but the point is that they’re all there. Because there is no built-in storage, you won’t be able to record shows in the traditional sense like Sky Q, but you can add content to your playlists for on-demand viewing and set up different playlists for different members of your home.

Elsewhere, some features such as the Sky Glass Gen 2 alarm motion and “Always Alert” mode are not ideal for bedroom environments. Televisions can become living creatures in the middle of the night, throwing their arms into the air in the way of sleep, but they are useful in living room settings.

As mentioned above, for gamers, there is a lack of 120Hz/144Hz refresh rate support and VRR, so you won’t be able to get the best experience from the latest consoles, but you can connect them to use them on the Sky Glass Gen 2.

Pricing and availability

You can purchase Sky Glass Gen 2 with a monthly payment. This is its main selling point. The 48-month contract costs 14 pounds a month for the 43-inch model, 19 pounds for the 55-inch model, and 24 pounds for the 65-inch model. If you choose a 24-month agreement, these prices will be doubled.

Alternatively, you could buy the Sky Glass Gen 2 entirely for £699 (43 inches), £949 (55 inches), or £1199 (65 inches), but if you’re planning on doing that, I recommend considering other TV options that are suitable for image quality and pairing it with Skystream instead.

You can maintain your TV once your payment is complete, but remember that you will also have to pay for the Sky TV package. These start at £15 a month plus TV costs and can be added to any channel you need accordingly, including movies, sports, Netflix, Disney and more.

Final Thoughts

Sky Glass 2 is a robust iteration of the original, bringing a welcome improvement in both image and sound quality. This is an attractive proposition for anyone wanting an all-in-one TV package with Sky built in, offering a very convenient element, but the ability to buy a TV with monthly payments makes it more accessible than other TVs.

It’s a bit bulky and won’t satisfy discerning audiophi with extra soundbars, serious gamers looking for peak performance, or anything after the best image quality, but the Sky Glass Gen 2 offers an amazingly good integrated sound experience, decent photos, ease of use, and a seamless integration into the world of Sky’s content

If you’re looking for a simple, convenient and designed way to get all your Sky content and streaming apps in one place, and if you have a robust Wi-Fi connection, the Sky Glass 2 is definitely worth considering.