Sky Glass Air available from £6 a month, but is it worth it?

Daily Mirror

16-06-2025

Sky Glass Air provides a cheaper way to get access to Sky channels with a low monthly payment. But how does it compare to Sky Glass?
Sky Glass provides an easy route to getting the latest telly in your home, with an all-in-one package that includes the television and the channels from Sky. It's ideal for anyone who can't afford to pay the upfront costs for a new TV, or someone who just wants a simple solution.
Sky Glass was updated in 2025 with a second-gen version, which boosted the picture quality, while the built-in soundbar provides really good audio to boost your movies. But it starts at £14 a month.
To reduce the barrier to accessibility, Sky has announced Sky Glass Air, a more affordable variant, with a starting price of £6 a month.
Note that in both cases that's just the price for the television, the Sky subscription then costs £15 a month at its lowest, but this gets you access to 100 channels, including Netflix and Discovery+. It's the same basic package you'd get if you opted for a Sky Stream box instead.
While £6 a month sounds like good value for money, let's dig into whether this is actually worth it, what the differences are compared to the more expensive Sky Glass and what other options you have.
Sky Glass Air: What do you get?
Sky Glass Air is a 4K television that supports HDR, including Dolby Vision, offering Dolby Audio, with the connection to Sky's channels built in. It runs Sky OS, the same experience that you get on Sky Stream and the normal Sky Glass, as well as supporting voice control through the remote.
The TV comes in three sizes, and that £6 a month price is for the smallest model. Even the largest 65-inch Sky Glass Air model is cheaper than the regular Sky Glass. Here's how the prices line up, and there's a £20 upfront cost for all:
Sky Glass Air 43in – £6 a month
Sky Glass Air 55in – £10 a month
Sky Glass Air 65in - £13 a month
Note that these are all on a 48-month contract. If you want to shorten that contract to 24 months the price is doubled. You can also buy the TV outright, costing £309 for the 43in, £509 for the 55in and £649 for the 65in. If you've done the maths, you'll realise that's more expensive if you buy the TV outright, so monthly payments are better value.
Sky Glass Air comes in black, white and green colours.
Sky Glass vs Sky Glass Air: How do they compare?
While the content you get access to remains the same, there's quite a bit of difference between these two models. They come in the same sizes, both are 4K and both are HDR compatible – supporting Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG – but the tech behind the screen is different.
Picture quality
Sky describes the screen on Sky Glass as offering 'advanced HDR', making reference to 'segment-based adjustment' for dimming. This is where the panel has a number of dimming zones support better control of the picture.
Sky Glass Air, by comparison, has 'uniform brightness adjustment', suggesting that it lacks the dimming zones. That means that the picture won't be as good as the Sky Glass, because the panel isn't as sophisticated. It is, after all, half the price, so there has to be a difference somewhere.
While the resolution (that's the 4K bit) and the HDR (that's the Dolby Vision bit) remain the same, the picture will look different. For those wondering about gaming, both are 60Hz, while both feature Quantum Dots, to provide vibrant colour.
Sound
The highlight of Sky Glass is the built-in soundbar. This has a 7-speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos for immersive audio, with a total output of 250W.
On Sky Glass Air, there's a 2-speaker system with an output of 30W. That's a big difference, as Sky Glass Air doesn't have the woofers to boost the bass, or the speakers to support Dolby Atmos, so it won't sound as good.
Design and build
Sky Glass is hefty, with a thick and uniform profile through the whole TV, because it's surrounding the soundbar too. That makes the TV pretty heavy and you couldn't exactly call it slim. But it does look smart and uniform – it's a nice design.
Sky Glass Air is more conventional, with a plastic back that's a little blocky. It's much more like any other TV. That means it's much lighter than Sky Glass, but it's less pretty if you're looking at the back of it. Why, might I ask, would be looking at the back of your TV?
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So, considering that you're paying half the price, you're getting a different design, a screen that's not as sophisticated and sound that's not going to be as good – so there's plenty to think about.
What about other TVs?
This is the real challenge for Sky, because there are some really good value TVs available – and that headline price of £6 a month is for a 43in TV, which is pretty small by modern standards – many people are now buying 55in TVs - like this Hisense model, which is currently the 'lowest price' at Argos.
The TCL P7K - currently £360 on Amazon (55in) – is a great TV, offering all the same specs with a direct lit LED panel offering 4K HDR support, including Dolby Vision. It adds HDR10+ to the list (which you'll find streaming on Prime Video for example). But this TV is £149 cheaper than a Sky Glass Air TV of the same size.
Sure, Sky Glass Air has more powerful speakers, but on this TCL set, shoppers can just connect a Sky Stream box and save money, potentially getting a better TV in the process.
Is Sky Glass Air worth it?
There are clear differences between Sky Glass Air and Sky Glass, but there's a big difference in price too. In that sense, Sky Glass Air is a cheaper way to get access to Sky content, with the benefit of low monthly payments, saving you from having to pay over a couple of hundred pounds for a new TV.
On the flip side, if you're looking at buying outright, Sky Glass Air and Sky Glass look expensive compared to regular TVs. While Sky Glass has the advantage of the built-in soundbar and that nice design, Sky Glass Air lacks that benefit.