Sky Glass Gen 2 Review
When the popular British broadcaster first introduced Sky Glass back in 2021, it promised a seamless, dish-free future - a world where all your entertainment needs were baked into a beautifully designed, always-connected smart TV.
That initial effort (our Gen 1 review here) was positively met on arrive and came crammed full of ambition, but did leave room for improvement in core picture quality as well as showcased decent - as opposed to stellar - audio capabilities.
Fast forward to 2025, and Sky has returned with its second generation of Sky Glass. With even bolder claims - a brighter 4K screen, improved audio once again courtesy of Dolby Atmos, and a revamped Sky OS interface - the new model has been framed as a genuine evolution.
Does it address the criticisms levelled at the original - especially by gamers and home cinema enthusiasts?
We spent several months using the new Sky Glass in a family setting, comparing its strengths and weaknesses to the first-generation model, and seeing how it holds up in real-world scenarios, from movie nights with the kids to casual sports viewing, as well as some late-night gaming.
Here’s our thoughts in this Sky Glass Gen 2 long-term review.
Design and build
From the moment you unbox this telly sequel, it becomes clear that Sky has refined its design process. While the first version was no eyesore, it had a certain bulkiness that betrayed its aspirations to be both TV and soundbar in a single unit.
The new model is slimmer and more elegant, although it still both looks largely similar to the original, as well as has a bit of presence in a living room.
Available in three muted colourways - Volcanic Grey, Arctic Silver, and Atlantic Blue - the newer range loses the more flamboyant options of the original (Dusky Pink and Racing Green, we hardly knew ye). Some may miss the pop of personality, but the more understated palette complements modern interiors more naturally.
The bezels are thinner this time around, and while the footprint remains significant - especially on the 65-inch model we tested - the sleeker profile and improved stand make installation far less cumbersome.
On the subject of size, Sky Glass Gen 2 is available in either 43, 55 or 65-inch models, and continues the structure of a monthly contract of either 24 or 48 months, as well as the option to pay for the device in full.
Sky has wisely redesigned the assembly process. Gone are the awkward screws of the original stand, which left our original review unit sloping ever-so-slightly forwards, despite professional installation.
In their place is a pronged mechanism that clicks into position in seconds. For those wall-mounting, the optional bracket now includes a tilt-and-swivel function, making it easier to get the perfect viewing angle. This makes a world of difference for those with living rooms that receive varying light sources, or have broader seating arrangements.
It’s worth noting that the wall-mount bracket is currently only available at the point of initial purchase - an odd restriction for those who might wish to pop it up later.
Glass Gen 2 is still a heavy unit, weighing in at a hefty 30 kilograms for the largest size, but the weight feels purposeful rather than burdensome.
The TV comes preassembled with the fabric speaker grille intact, though it can be removed and replaced should you want a different aesthetic down the line. It's a nice touch, though we suspect most will set it and forget it.
When it comes to inputs, it’s a scant three HDMI ports on the rear available on Sky Glass Gen 2 - as well as two for USB and an Ethernet port if you want to hardwire into your internet. Wi-Fi 6 is also there for wireless connectivity, as well as Bluetooth 5.2 and Apple Airplay support for those wanting their phone’s content to have the spotlight.
Three HDMI ports is rough for power users - especially considering wireless audio set-ups like Sonos already take one of those (eARC is supported via the HDMI2 port, fast becoming the TV standard), as well as the rarely-mentioned Sky Live camera (for £6 per month) which enables hands-free interaction and shared viewing of content - as well as video calls - potentially snaffling another.
If you’re looking to hook up all of those consoles, prepare for some difficult decisions…
Picture quality
Important upgrades up front - this is immediately a marked improvement on the original Sky Glass. The first generation was dinged for displaying relatively muted colours, shallower black levels, and a general lack of punch, particularly in bright environments. The Gen 2 model benefits from a new Quantum Dot panel boasting full-array local dimming and more than 100 dimming zones, depending on the screen size.
Peak brightness has also massively improved versus the original, immediately translating into much more impactful HDR performance. Watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in Dolby Vision during movie night with the curtains drawn, bright skies and explosions equally popped with real vibrancy, whilst shadows carried depth and texture as opposed to murky greys.
Colours are more accurate out of the box, too. Where the original often veered toward a cold, blueish hue, the Gen 2 initially presents a more balanced and natural tone. Sky has introduced several new picture modes, including Movie, Sports, Entertainment, as well as two vivid presets.
Movie mode struck the best balance for daily use, avoiding the bleeds of colour and oversaturation found in Vivid - but it’s there for those who really want to put the panel through its paces.
Viewing angles are solid, and reflections are better managed thanks to a new anti-reflective coating. However, in direct sunlight, particularly during a Sunday morning breakfast show in our living room setup, the screen still needed tweaks to maintain contrast.
The trio of upgrades - a new quantum panel, higher brightness levels, and improved anti-glare - are instantly noticeable. They bring clarity, depth and a welcome feeling of premium polish to the visuals that the Gen 1 didn’t consistently deliver.
One thing that we do have to raise is the subject of refresh rates, given Sky Glass Gen 2 still tops out at 60Hz. Whilst we could have chalked this up to being quite a nerdy or esoteric point back in 2021, the rise of enthusiast consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 Pro - as well as vast swathes of TVs offering a 120Hz output as standard - means the lack of support here equals not making full use of today’s latest gaming hardware.
What this means in real life is that the growing number of titles supporting this newer standard - delivering smoother and more responsive moment-to-moment gameplay - like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Apex Legends, and even crowd-pleasers like Fortnite, show signs of both motion blur and input lag as a consequence.
More casual gamers may not mind, but those who take their gaming seriously will find this limitation frustrating - especially at this price point. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which helps reduce stuttering in games with inconsistent frame rates, is also absent.
During testing, the difference between this TV and a gaming monitor when playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was unmistakable, even with the Gen 2's ‘auto game mode’ setting doing its best to close down that gap of mere milliseconds in responsiveness.
Audio performance
The original Sky Glass made bold claims about being the only TV you would ever need without a soundbar. In practice, it was decent, but didn’t quite keep up with dedicated audio setups.
Gen 2 certainly makes a stronger case, upping the ante with a redesigned seven-speaker array into a 3.1.2 Dolby Atmos system, adding upfiring drivers and two embedded subwoofers.
Sound is fuller, richer, and better dispersed as a consequence, with clearer dialogue during high-tension TV dramas like The Pitt, whilst action sequences in our demo movie of Dune: Part Two delivered deep, room-filling resonance and directionality, especially during the sandworm ambush sequence.
Those upfiring speakers do make a real difference in giving height to Dolby Atmos content, particularly when watching nature documentaries on Netflix in our living room with a raised ceiling, with the built-in system performing admirably.
In our usual home setup, we have a Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar with a pair of Era 300s for surround at the rear, and a Sub 4 bringing the bass.
Switching between the two during the first month of testing did reveal the limits of the Sky Glass system, with the Arc Ultra delivering noticeably tighter bass, more precise directional sound, and a sense of true spaciousness that the built-in Dolby Atmos system comes close to, but lacks full fidelity and spatial detail.
Where the Glass Gen 2’s sound impresses is both the relative convenience, as well as the cost - it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this improved set-up doesn’t quite match the highs of two grand's worth of audio separates, but what does wow is just how close it gets, at a fraction of the cost.
For those without room - or the budget - for a dedicated soundbar, it is a compelling all-in-one solution. Yet audiophiles or those used to premium sound systems will still crave the additional nuance and depth that comes from dedicated speakers creating that broader soundstage.
Volume scaling on the Gen 2 has also been improved. With the original, levels jumped dramatically between apps which caused a few jump scares of its own, regardless of what you were watching!
Now, volume is more consistent across live TV, streaming services, and game consoles alike, meaning fewer jarring audio shifts when switching from a late-night Netflix documentary to a Sky Sports live broadcast.
The included audio presets do also help to tailor the experience. We found Night mode particularly effective when watching in bedrooms after the kids went to bed, keeping dialogue prominent without also enhancing or creating overwhelming bass.
Speech enhancement is also useful for news programmes or talk shows - bringing dialogue to the foreground without seeming artificial or disrupting ambient audio tracks, an issue which can come with competing implementations of what is quite a challenging feature to get right.
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Sky OS smart features and interface
Sky's Entertainment OS has also matured dramatically in the years since the launch of Sky Glass. Now dubbed Sky OS, the interface has been streamlined and polished, whilst still retaining features which were so impressive at the outset.
Navigation is faster, voice search is more accurate and applicable across the entire operating system, whilst personalisation is much improved with more distinct dedicated profiles. These allow for better content discovery on the ‘rails’ of shows displayed based on user preferences, and the Playlists feature - the amalgam of linear content with on-demand services - has evolved into arguably the best way to watch TV.
All of the streaming apps you’d expect - BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Netflix, as well as all the 'pluses' from Disney, Apple and Paramount are present, with that tight integration of search and discovery across them all which continues to amaze.
For example, if you’re watching The Bear on Disney+ one evening and switch over to live TV the next day, your place is saved, with the content easily accessible and resumed from the home screen.
Also, more granular personalisation of adding your favourite actor or movie and Glass suggestions based on those preferences for more content to watch is a cute update.
Performance has also improved, with those little hiccups or hints of sluggishness when loading apps or switching between live and on-demand content all but eradicated in Gen 2. Live TV channels - as well as their programme schedules - load swiftly, whilst 4K content buffers quickly - albeit that’s down to a decent broadband connection as much as it is Sky Glass. Recommended download speeds of 25Mb and up are proposed for HD content, whilst 4K streaming is at a minimum of 30Mbps.
Not a massive concern for those on full fibre, but important to note that the vast majority of this functionality is entirely dependent on both the Sky package of channels you have, streaming services you’re signed up to, as well as having decent internet to back it up.
Voice control is another area of welcome evolution - moving from gimmick to the favoured mode of interaction with the TV in our house.
Saying "Hello Sky" now works even with ambient noise like kids arguing or particularly spirited cooking in the kitchen. Microphones can be toggled off to allay any privacy concerns, and the system also accepts remote-based voice commands - with the remote being one area where the Gen 2 seems largely identical to the original.
The remote control still offers a capacitive touch-wheel for navigation, voice support as well as motion-activated lighting - still a godsend in a dark room, and a less common feature than expected in top-flight TVs.
One lingering drawback is the reliance on streaming for all content. Unlike Sky Q (or Sky+ if you cast your mind back far enough!), there is no local storage on the TV, meaning if content rights expire or apps lose access, those shows are gone. Recording shows directly off the TV was very much a nice-to-have in earlier services (and one which can be added via plugging in hard drives on other smart TVs), but is such a niche use case in an era of on-demand content at one’s fingertips.
It’s also nice to note that Sky OS has also added accessibility features. Voice guidance, high contrast modes, and text scaling make the system more inclusive than before - and are easily accessible rather than being nested in some confusing menu.
For families, those all-important parental controls are easy to manage and apply across profiles, as well as to inputs.
Given how essential day-to-day usability of a device of this nature is, Sky OS continues to be an industry-leading demonstration of content-first, service-agnostic delivery of the best in entertainment, right at your fingertips - or even the sound of your voice.
Living with Sky Glass Gen 2
During our extended time with the TV, we tried to test it in different rooms, lighting conditions and usage scenarios. In our main living room, the 65-inch model served as the household hub.
The experience was ideal for casual viewing. Kids used it for YouTube and Netflix, while we got in the habit of queuing up one of Sky Cinema's many weekly premieres each Sunday night - for families, the Gen 2 represents a stress-free, intuitive option for a wealth of content.
Kids can use the voice assistant to call up cartoons, while parents get the benefit of fast channel changes and curated watchlists. Our household found it practical, reliable and modern in a way that required very little tinkering once set up.
Sky Glass Gen 2 - our verdict
The second-generation Sky Glass is a confident evolution of Sky's all-in-one vision. It successfully refines the experience that its predecessor only hinted at. The brighter panel, smarter interface, and meatier sound make it a genuine option for families and casual streamers looking for an elegant, no-fuss TV setup that just works.
However, for gamers, cinephiles and audio purists with dedicated gear, the limitations are more apparent. The 60Hz cap is a constraint, and while the built-in sound system certainly delivers, it doesn’t quite displace the immersive performance of a dedicated soundbar setup. The absence of VRR and 120Hz only reaffirms that Sky Glass aims to serve the majority, not chase the AV enthusiast crowd.
Sky Glass Gen 2 delivers a polished, integrated smart TV and streaming experience for users who want clarity, simplicity and convenience. The bundled monthly model - reminiscent of smartphone contracts - makes access to premium content feel more like a service than a purchase.
With pricing from around £699 for the 43-inch model to £1,199 for the 65-inch Gen 2, with the option of interest-free monthly payment plans, Sky offers a high-end streaming experience without the clutter of extra boxes, intrusive installation or remote juggling.
For early adopters, the absence of an official trade-in or upgrade path may sting, particularly if they invested in the first version expecting a seamless upgrade cycle. While there were murmurs of a more fluid handoff between generations in earlier messaging, that pathway hasn’t materialised.
Still, in the here and now, Sky Glass Gen 2 capably delivers. It’s a better, brighter, bolder step forward - and for households that prize simplicity over granular control, as well as are willing to be all-in on a Sky subscription - it’s hard not to recommend as a centrepiece for everyday viewing.
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