Sky launches budget-friendly Glass Air TV: Is it worth your money?

Dan Howdle • June 11th, 2025

Sky has launched Sky Glass Air, a more affordable, stripped-back version of its all-in-one smart TV (Sky Glass Gen 2). Starting at £6/month plus the cost of your Sky subscription, it’s aimed at people who want Sky TV in more rooms or at a lower cost — but it does come with a few trade-offs.

What is Sky Glass Air?

Sky Glass Air is basically a cheaper, lighter version of Sky Glass Gen 2. It's a smart TV with Sky TV (Sky Stream) built in, so you don’t need a dish, a box, or even a separate Sky Stream puck. Everything runs over Wi-Fi and through Sky's own operating system. It's very neat.

This isn’t Sky changing the game. It's more Sky filling a gap — with Sky Glass Air offering a second-room solution or a more wallet-friendly entry point into its TV service as a whole. If you already use Sky Glass or Sky Stream, Air feels like an add-on. If you're new to Sky, it's a simpler, cheaper way to start if you're in the market for a TV as well as a subscription.

What's the difference between Sky Glass Air and Sky Glass Gen 2?

At first glance, Sky Glass Air and Sky Glass Gen 2 look pretty similar — same minimalist design, same no-screws stand, and the same built-in Sky Stream features. But once you start looking closer, the differences start to show, particularly in the materials, sound, and picture technology.

Sky Glass Gen 2 is more premium overall. It has a solid, colour-matched back panel and curved sides that give it a sleeker profile. Glass Air, on the other hand, makes do with a black plastic rear and boxier shape. It's clearly built to a budget, but it's also much lighter and easier to move around, which is good but also the sign of a cheaper panel. Both models come with a matching remote depending on which colour you pick, which is a nice touch.

The biggest compromise is sound. Glass Gen 2 packs in a full Dolby Atmos soundbar, while Glass Air uses a basic two-channel speaker system inside the TV itself, that fires downward. It’ll be fine for casual watching, but don’t expect room-filling audio. That said, you can still connect your own speakers via HDMI eARC if sound quality is a priority for you.

In terms of picture, both TVs use a Quantum Dot panel, but Glass Air has global dimming as opposed to dimming zones, which will significantly lower the available contrast. It also has a 60Hz refresh rate compared to 120Hz on the Gen 2 – something worth considering if you're a gamer and need those extra frames. It’s still directly lit (rather than edge-lit), which helps with black levels, but contrast and motion handling won’t be on par with Sky Glass Gen 2, which is better all round, but also pricier. Classic case of you get what you pay for.

Here are the features of Sky Glass Air and Sky Glass Gen 2 side by side:

No fuss, no extras

One of the key selling points with Sky Glass Air is how little setup is involved. You take the TV out of the box, pop it on the stand (no tools needed), plug it in, connect to Wi-Fi, and you’re done. There’s no dish, no engineer visit, and no little box to hide behind your telly.

The simplicity is the whole idea. It’s meant to just work. And in most cases, it does, so long as your broadband connection is strong and stable.

What’s it like to use?

Glass Air runs Sky OS, the same interface found on Sky Glass and Sky Stream. If you’ve used either of those, you’ll be right at home. Everything from live TV to Netflix, discovery+, YouTube, and Apple TV+ sits side by side. You scroll through categories, browse personalised recommendations, and add shows to your Playlist.

It works well most of the time. The menus are clean, the voice control is handy if a bit hit-and-miss (based on our experience with Sky Stream), and there’s a 'Continue Watching' section that makes jumping back into shows easy, though they do sometimes situate this a few clicks down the menu screen when it really should be the first item.

Just be aware that not all apps are included — Disney+ and some others are available, but there’s still no native support for a a number of notable apps.

The broadband question

Everything on Glass Air streams over Wi-Fi, which is great for avoiding cables, but it does mean your experience hinges on your home broadband. If you’ve got sluggish or patchy broadband, you’re going to notice buffering and delays as with any online streaming you currently do.

Sky recommends a minimum of 25Mbps for 4K – a lot less for HD – but realistically, you’ll want more than that if you have multiple people online at once. This is not a product for homes with dodgy routers or dead spots, but you can say that about any streaming box or app at the end of the day.

How much does it cost?

This is where Sky Glass Air stands out. The 43" model starts at £6/month if you take it over 48 months, rising to £13/month for the 65" version. You can also pay it off over 24 months at higher rates, or buy it outright (from £309 to £649).

But you need to bear in mind that does not include your Sky subscription – it's just what you pay to essentially hire purchase the TV on a credit agreement. Sky Essential TV, which includes Sky TV, Netflix and discovery+, starts from £15/month. That means a base setup could cost as little as £21/month in total, but as soon as you start thinking about bigger screens, Sky Ultimate TV and/or Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, that monthly cost goes up fast. So take Sky's 'from £21/month' price with a pinch of salt. That's the bear minimum screen with the bare minimum service.

Any downsides?

Yes. While the price is appealing, there are compromises. The sound is not going to be brilliant as there's no sound bar. Picture quality is going to ba adequate but with no dimming zones definitely nothing special. You can’t take it with you like a Sky Stream Puck, and you can’t watch on other TVs without getting more hardware. And you still need to be tied into Sky’s monthly subscription model, which can add up fast when you start layering on juicy extras.

It also lacks some of the versatility of other smart TVs. You can’t customise it as much, app choice is limited compared to Android or Roku systems, and you’re fairly locked into the Sky way of doing things. It's Sky's way or the highway.

Who should consider it?

Sky Glass Air makes most sense if you’re already using Sky and want to expand to another room, or if you want a cleaner, simpler setup with as few boxes and cables as possible. It’s also a decent shout for students or renters who can’t have satellite gear installed, but bear in mind the contracts here are long unless you buy the screen outright.

If you’re heavily into your tech, want Dolby Atmos sound, or prefer full control over apps and streaming sources, you’re probably better off with a separate TV and a Sky Stream Puck. Sky Glass Air is more about convenience than it is about performance.

Final thoughts

Sky Glass Air is not revolutionary, and it’s not meant to be. It’s a budget version of Sky Glass that gives you the essentials for less money. If you go in with the right expectations — solid picture, simple setup, no satellite or clutter — it's going to do a decent job.

But like all Sky hardware, it’s only as good as the service behind it. If you’re happy with Sky’s content, can live with their ecosystem, and want a no-fuss second screen or entry point, Glass Air is worth a look. Just don’t expect it to blow you away like a mid-to-high end Samsung might, for example.