Sky has begun rolling out a major update to its Sky Glass TVs that brings a number of much-requested features.
Top of the list is the new ability to access Sky Box Office pay-per-view content, with the feature arriving just in time for this weekend’s big heavyweight title fight rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
A somewhat surprising omission for the pay-TV company’s new platform at its launch, the new update finally allows Sky Glass customers to purchase PPV events within the menu screen, bringing the no-satellite dish-required service in-line with Sky Q.
Arguably the handiest feature addition comes with Voice search for YouTube though, allowing you to look for content on Google’s streaming service just by speaking.
Saying a command like "Hello Sky, Billie Eilish on YouTube" will fire up the app and automatically show search results related to the pop star.
The software update also brings a further nine new channels to the service. Bloomberg, NBC News Now, Colors HD, Colors Rishtey, Colors Gujrati, GB News, TalkTV, Zee TV, and Zee Cinema are now all available to watch on Sky Glass, with the promise of more to be added in the future.
Elsewhere, Playlist editing has been improved, with a quick tap of the “+” button allowing you to delete shows, while you now only have to sign in once to access BBC apps such as iPlayer and Sounds, rather than logging in to each one individually.
The update, which comes in time for the launch of Sky Glass in the Republic of Ireland later this month, is available now.
Analysis: A welcome set of updates for Sky’s new platform
Sky’s all-streaming service made a big impression in our review earlier last year, but some teething bugs and missing features made it feel at times like an incomplete service.
Much of those initial issues have been addressed in the intervening months, with the addition of Sky Box Office fixing arguably the biggest hole in the service.
Intriguingly, the handy addition of voice search for YouTube in this new update brings a feature that isn’t yet available on Sky Q to Sky Glass first, suggesting that the streaming service might be the pay-TV providers main priority going forward.
