Sky is preparing to release a major free upgrade for Sky Glass TVs and Sky Stream boxes, introducing five significant changes designed to make navigating and watching TV easier. The update is currently being tested and is expected to arrive in the coming months, with the rollout anticipated before Christmas.
New menu bar and recordings
One of the biggest changes is a new menu bar running across the top of the home screen, providing instant access to features such as Home, TV Guide, My Library, Sport and My Account, along with one-tap access to Settings. A "Recents" option, shown as a clock with a backwards arrow, quickly returns users to recently opened apps and channels.
Recordings are finally coming to Sky Stream and Glass. When these streaming products launched, they replaced traditional recordings with a Playlists system, which could result in every available episode appearing in a user's Playlist. The new update brings the experience closer to the old Sky Q setup, allowing users to record individual programmes or entire series and delete them once watched. It is even possible to record just one F1 race, such as the British Grand Prix, or a big Premier League game. Unlike Sky Q, there is no hard drive inside the devices, so everything is stored in the cloud, with 1,000 hours of storage offered per user.
Smarter voice search and faster live TV
Sky is also overhauling its voice search with the arrival of Smart Voice. When a request is made, a glowing coloured ball appears on screen to confirm the system has heard the user. Smart Voice can now handle follow-up questions, such as asking for films starring Tom Cruise and then narrowing results to those where he plays a fighter pilot, understanding the context to show Top Gun movies. It can also tell users who is starring in shows, what reviews are like and when the next episode is on. Sky says it is continuing to improve Smart Voice.
Getting to live TV will be faster, with one button press taking viewers straight to live channels. The TV Guide gains a new calendar button to jump forward and see what is coming later in the week, and pressing and holding the Back button returns users to a previous programme. A new interactive Mini Guide is also in development, showing what is on now and what is coming next.
Dedicated Sport section and release timing
Sports fans will get a dedicated destination, with Sky Glass and Sky Stream gaining a new Sport section offering quick access to sports channels and on-demand content. Users can add their favourite teams, with relevant content appearing in this area.
Sky has not revealed an exact release date, but the company said the new software should arrive within the next few months, with the rollout expected before Christmas. The update is currently in testing, so some features could still change before reaching customers. For owners of Sky Glass TVs or Sky Stream boxes, the entire upgrade will be free.
