Sky’s latest streaming TV aims to be a good, all-in-one budget option for your sitting room – and it achieves all those aims, leaving it standing strong in a field of mediocre, similarly priced appliances.
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The Glass Air is a lighter, slimmer and cheaper version of the Glass gen 2 and is arguably the low-cost TV Sky should have launched first, coming in three sizes starting at £309 or just £6 a month on 48-month interest-free credit with £20 upfront.
As with its pricier siblings, Glass Air requires a Sky subscription for full use, which costs from £15 a month for the Essential TV pack. It will function as a basic smart TV with streaming apps, an aerial and its three HDMI ports, but you would not buy any Sky TV without the intention of paying for its TV-over-broadband service.
Glass Air is best thought of as a cut-down version of Glass gen 2. It has the same service and internal smart hardware but lacks the integrated soundbar, aluminium body and has a different screen, making it a fraction of the weight and thickness.
The slim plastic frame is available in a choice of three colours with matching remote. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
It also means all it needs is a power cable and an internet connection, be that via wifi or ethernet – no aerial or satellite cable required – and just one remote for all of your TV, streaming apps and services combined. It also has Sky’s voice-control system with integrated mics, so you can turn it on, search, control the volume and playback by simply saying “Hello Sky” followed by your command. You have to speak up a bit but it works well. Alternatively, you can press and hold the mic button on the remote and speak into that.
The 60Hz screen is a bright and crisp 4K LCD panel with HDR support, but it lacks the superior local-dimming backlight technology present in Glass gen 2 and other higher-end TVs. That means the picture has one brightness across the whole scene, reducing the difference between light and dark areas. As a result, some high-contrast scenes look less dramatic and lack a little depth, while bright landscapes can look a little bleached out.
Despite this, the television does a good job of displaying an engaging picture, looking great with everyday TV shows and doing a solid job with bright animation or moody movies.
Glass Air has three HDMI ports, an optical port, two USB ports, ethernet and an aerial socket, but only needs power and wifi to actually work. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The 15W stereo speakers are surprisingly good for a thin TV without a soundbar. They can get loud enough to fill medium-sized rooms and produced clear vocals at anything up to 90% volume, which can’t be said of most TV speakers.
They lack bass and any attempt at surround sound, but are certainly good enough for watching Bargain Hunt or the Premier League. You can use one of the three HDMI ports to connect a soundbar for more immersive sound, although you will need to raise the TV otherwise the soundbar will block a portion of the screen.
Sky OS
The modern Sky interface puts all of your content, whether live or on-demand, in one easy to use system. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
One of the biggest advantages of Glass Air compared with similarly priced budget TVs is that the software running on it is actually good. Sky OS has improved dramatically over the last few years and runs well on the Glass Air.
It combines live broadcast with on-demand content seamlessly through its excellent playlist feature, which makes keeping track of your shows and films easy. Watching live TV, pausing it and rewinding it works great. Almost every major streaming service is supported, including BBC iPlayer, ITV X, Channel 4, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+ and Discovery+.
Glass Air also supports AirPlay 2 for sending content from Apple’s various devices and Bluetooth for connecting a set of headphones for private listening.
Sustainability
The TV switches to a screensaver before turning off when not used for a set time, detecting your presence through motion sensors in the remote. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
The television is repairable apart from the screen. It contains recycled plastic and solder. The company will recycle its old products and ships the TV in plastic-free packaging.
Price
The Sky Glass Air is available in three sizes with upfront costs of £309 for 43in, £509 for 55in and £649 for 65in. It is also available on 24- or 48-month interest-free payment plans costing from £6 with a £20 upfront fee.
The minimum required Sky package is Essential TV costing from £15 a month, which includes Netflix and Discovery+, with many other combinations of entertainment, movies, kids and sports channels available on 24 or one month rolling plans.
Verdict
Sky Glass Air is a solid budget television with all the advantages of Sky’s pay-TV over broadband service built in.
It is slim and light with stereo speakers that are far better than most slender TVs. It has a decent 4K picture that is bright and colourful, although it lacks a little contrast here and there. The physical bits of the TV are essentially good enough. Where it trounces other budget rivals is in the service and software, which is miles better than most low-end smart TVs.
Of course you have to pay a monthly subscription for the privilege, but for those looking for Sky pay-TV you are not getting a worse software experience on a cheaper television. And it still has the genuinely great all-in-one convenience of every TV and streaming service in one box with one remote and just power and internet required.
You can get better-looking mid-range TVs discounted to around this price if you shop savvy. But the Glass Air is great for the money and stands out against the sea of unremarkable budget TVs at this end of the market.
Pros: all-in-one streaming and pay-TV device, decent vocals, no satellite/cable or aerial needed, good remote, great software, excellent search and playlist functions, all major streaming apps, voice control, custom picture modes.
Cons: no local dimming means lower contrast, no fast refresh rate for game consoles, no Chromecast support, requires subscription.
The TV slots on to two metal prongs on a sturdy plastic stand with no tools required or it can be wall-mounted instead. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian