Comcast has announced the launch of Sky Glass, a smart TV tied to the UK's Sky streaming platform. The new TV will be available to UK consumers beginning on Oct. 18. Additionally, Sky Glass will be launched in other Sky European markets in 2022.
According to a release, Sky Glass will feature a cutting edge design, five separate colors and three sizes, a 4K Ultra HD Quantum Dot screen producing over 1 billion colors, while the 10-bit HDR screen supports HLG, HDR10, and Dolby Vision. It also includes Dolby Atmos sound with built-in speakers and subwoofer, and “Hello Sky” technology, allowing viewers to speak to their television in order to find what to watch.
With Sky planning on a 2022 launch in other European markets, one question that does come to mind is whether or not they plan to bring the same technology to the United States. A single-shop option for its parent Comcast under the Xfinity brand would be a great sales tool.
Could you imagine an Xfinity Glass or Comcast Glass smart TV being sold to consumers in Chicago or Denver? And imagine consumers being able to stream, say Sunday Night Football on NBC next fall, or perhaps the latest edition of Law & Order on Peacock on their new Xfinity Glass smart TV.
It could also be used for them to get people to adopt their Xfinity Stream (streaming only) cable plan, as an alternative to sending them an Xfinity Flex or X1 device.
Sky Glass comes in three different sizes — 43”, 55”, and 65” — and in five colors: Ocean Blue, Ceramic White, Racing Green, Dusky Pink, or Anthracite Black. It comes with matching remotes and customizable speaker faces for each. It comes with a full two-year warranty and a free delivery service that includes unboxing and packaging removal.
Under a unique plan, Sky customers can purchase Sky Glass the same way they purchase a cellphone, with flexible payment terms. Customers can pay all at once, or spread payments out with interest-free monthly payments for as little as £13 per month ($17.68 USD), exclusively with Sky TV, starting from £26 ($35.35 USD) for Sky Ultimate TV. For an additional £4 (5.44 USD) more a month, customers can increase the TV size to 55”, or £8 ($10.88 USD) more per month for 65”. A Whole-Home Pack brings Sky Glass technology to any TV using the Sky Stream Puck for £10 a month ($13.60 USD).
“Sky Glass is the streaming TV with Sky inside, providing the total integration of hardware, software, and content,” said Sky Group Chief Executive Dana Strong at the launch event on Thursday. “Built on over 30 years of understanding what our customers want, this is a TV that only Sky could make. We believe this is the smartest TV available, and that customers will love it.”
Content on board at launch includes Sky, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Disney+, ITV Hub, All4, Spotify, Peloton, PlayWorks, and more. A new home screen makes it easy to find content. In addition, viewers can talk to their Sky Glass by simply saying “Hello Sky” to find whatever content they are looking for and play it.
Viewers can create a personal playlist of favorite shows, movies, and more across apps and channels, live and on-demand at the push of a button. In addition, by using the “plus” button, they can add to the playlist on the fly.
That’s only the beginning. Sky plans to launch a high spec 4K smart camera that works seamlessly with Sky Glass and will unlock a range of exciting new services for the whole family that will allow chatting, gameplay, working out, and the sharing of entertainment directly through the Sky Glass platform.
Sky Glass will also be the world’s first television to be certified as a Carbon Neutral product. Sustainably designed, it has low power features built-in such as auto-switch-off and auto-adjusting screen brightness helping it to be more energy-efficient. It is the only TV to come in recyclable packaging, free from single-use plastic, and by using a TV with everything built-in, you reduce electricity consumption by up to 50%.
By taking the step of launching Sky Glass, the release says, Sky will operate across the whole value chain, from content production to connectivity and aggregation, all coming together on the Sky Glass screen.