Sky has confirmed it will release a standalone version of its Sky Glass-adjacent streaming puck later in the year.
The Sky Stream puck (as it’s officially known) was announced alongside the satellite-free Sky Glass TV in October 2021, but only as an optional extra allowing subscribers to add Sky’s all-inclusive streaming service to other TVs in their home (in a manner akin to Sky multiroom).
Now, though, the British broadcaster has revealed plans to sell the Sky Stream puck as an independent product, meaning customers will soon be able to enjoy the hassle-free benefits of Sky Glass without needing to replace their existing TV sets.
By simply plugging a Sky Stream puck into their current home displays, users will get access to all the channels, shows and apps offered by Sky – including Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Spotify and so on – through the internet, eliminating the need for an external dish.
The puck will also grant instant access to Sky Glass’ voice controls, as well as its personal playlist and tailored recommendation features. Essentially, it’ll smarten up outdated TVs and give owners the opportunity to rid their existing home cinema setups of messy terrestrial cables.
Of course, being a plug-in-and-play streaming stick, the Sky Stream puck won’t magically anoint every TV it touches with the 360-degree Dolby Atmos sound and quantum dot screen technology of its Sky Glass sibling – but compatible displays will still benefit from former, while the puck also supports 4K streams up to 60 frames a second.
In that regard, the Sky Stream puck isn't an objectively better offering than Sky Glass proper, though it’s certain to be a product that attracts interest from prospective customers reluctant to trade in their existing TVs for a flashier version of Sky.
Sky has confirmed that its Sky Stream puck will hit shelves “later this year,” though no further details have been provided as yet. The same is true of its price – we know that each puck currently costs £10 per month when bought to complement Sky Glass TVs, but we expect a standalone version of the device to add several more zeros to that price.
