If Sky wants a foot in the door of the smart tv

[trefor-parr]

Review & Suggestions for Sky Glass and Sky Stream

Sky Glass and Sky Stream are strong products with huge potential, but there’s still room to make them even better. One of the biggest opportunities would be expanding compatibility and app availability.

AirPlay & HomeKit Support

Adding Apple AirPlay across all devices would allow seamless casting from iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Combined with HomeKit integration, Sky Glass could slot neatly into smart home ecosystems, giving users more control and making the TV feel like a true centerpiece of the home.

Access to Personal Media Servers

Sky currently focuses heavily on its own subscription services, much like Netflix or Disney+. While that makes sense from a business perspective, many users want the freedom to access their own media collections. Offering support for apps like Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby would give customers the ability to watch their personal libraries alongside Sky’s content, making Glass and Stream feel more like a complete operating system rather than just a closed platform.

Music Services

Expanding music app support would also go a long way. Adding Apple Music, along with other popular streaming platforms, would give customers more choice and flexibility—something that’s becoming a major deciding factor for people when they choose their entertainment hub.

Final Thought

If Sky wants Glass to succeed as more than just a TV service, it needs to start listening closely to customer feedback on what apps and integrations they actually want. The more open and connected the platform becomes, the more people will see it as the heart of their home entertainment system rather than just another way to stream TV

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@trefor-parr wrote:

Review & Suggestions for Sky Glass and Sky Stream

Sky Glass and Sky Stream are strong products with huge potential, but there’s still room to make them even better. One of the biggest opportunities would be expanding compatibility and app availability.

AirPlay & HomeKit Support

Adding Apple AirPlay across all devices would allow seamless casting from iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Combined with HomeKit integration, Sky Glass could slot neatly into smart home ecosystems, giving users more control and making the TV feel like a true centerpiece of the home.

Access to Personal Media Servers

Sky currently focuses heavily on its own subscription services, much like Netflix or Disney+. While that makes sense from a business perspective, many users want the freedom to access their own media collections. Offering support for apps like Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby would give customers the ability to watch their personal libraries alongside Sky’s content, making Glass and Stream feel more like a complete operating system rather than just a closed platform.

Music Services

Expanding music app support would also go a long way. Adding Apple Music, along with other popular streaming platforms, would give customers more choice and flexibility—something that’s becoming a major deciding factor for people when they choose their entertainment hub.

Final Thought

If Sky wants Glass to succeed as more than just a TV service, it needs to start listening closely to customer feedback on what apps and integrations they actually want. The more open and connected the platform becomes, the more people will see it as the heart of their home entertainment system rather than just another way to stream TV

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@trefor-parr Quite a portion of this is outside of Skys hands. For third party apps, the app owners need to be able to develop and support a version of the app for Sky OS, which potentially they may not necessarily see cost effective commercial benefits to doing that ( as Sky Os for instance will never be as widespread as say Android or Apple OS devices). 

[GD1]

@trefor-parr  That's the whole point of Sky Q, Sky Glass & Sky Stream, that it IS a closed platform.

If you want an all singing all dancing Smart TV then buy a Smart TV that has these apps such as Plex etc.

Stream doesn't need to have all the features of a Smart TV either.  Why would you need all that on a Stream puck when a Smart TV already has those features?

Sky has never marketed Glass & Stream as  a replacement for a fully fledged Smart TV.

Does a Virgin Media Stream device have all these fantasy features you seem to want?

Do EE TV boxes have all these fantasy features, no, why? because like Sky's TV devices they are a closed platform.

Sky don't market them as smart home devices either as there are plenty of other proper smart home integrations out there.

And of course Sky want you to use their TVs with the apps they provide with the 3rd parties that are on board such as Netflix, Disney+ etc.

Seems to me what you want from Sky is a fully fledged Smart TV with Sky also built in, that's not what Glass is intended as.

[BenJoBanjo]

@trefor-parr 

Sky is a mass-market business. The vast majority of customers won't have the slightest clue what Jellyfin, Emby or even HomeKit is. 
Those that do know what they are tend to seek out high quality hardware, designed for maximum versatility. Sky does not provide this. 
Sky provides simple, functional, mass-produced hardware, running its own easy to use OS, designed for the mass-market. Vast numbers of customers struggle to get their heads round simply streaming Coronation Street or adding a football match to a playlist. Throw a Plex server into the mix and their brains may melt. 
Simplicity is key for SkyOS. That's what makes it attractive to most people.