If you are a Sky Glass or Sky Stream customer, then there’s some good news that could improve your viewing experience.
A big redesign is coming to Sky OS for both the TV and app (named Sky Go), delivering a range of new features that should make browsing easier, faster and more curated to your tastes.
The new software isn't widely available yet, but it is being tested in a customer trial. That means you will have to wait a little while until you see it on your own screen, but Sky told us that it will be rolled out by the end of the year.
I got a chance to see the new OS tweaks at an event at Sky’s headquarters, and these are the three biggest changes that are coming.
Redesigned navigation bar
The main difference you will notice is the addition of a navigation bar at the top of the screen, which feels reminiscent of Apple’s Liquid Glass iOS design. That makes it easier to get to your most-viewed content and discover new movies and TV shows.
On the bar, you will find the following options: Home, TV Guide, My Library, Sport, and My Account. There’s also a shortcut to your recent watches and recordings on the far left side dubbed Recents, although that it just its working title.
This section gives you speedy access to keep watching your current content, see what you have saved, and view which channels you have recently opened. That’s a welcome addition so you don’t have to scroll down the homepage and get easily distracted.
Home has also added a carousel to the top with curated new shows and movies to choose from, playing a short trailer of each when you click on them.
The TV guide is pretty self-explanatory, giving you access to live TV with the touch of a button. Sky has replaced the plain text of each channel with its logo, though, which makes them more immediately recognisable.
You can set up recordings for current and future programmes here. There’s no picture-in-picture step to get through either, as the first click takes you straight to the full-screen video. That all makes for a smoother and faster browsing experience, and limits the number of clicks you need to make.
My Library replaces the previously named Playlist section. From here, you can access your watchlist and recordings. That all makes for an easier-to-navigate experience as soon as you turn on your TV or open the app.
Recordings are more centred
Sky has always offered the ability to record, but the new update puts the feature more front and centre. When you go into the Recents section, you are greeted with the shows that you have set up for recording.
When you want to record something, you simply go to the TV guide and select the programme to be presented with the option to record the series, the show or add to watchlist.
That gives you the option to select certain sports events such as F1 Grand Prix, for example, without having to trawl through the recorded practice sessions. These are specific for each profile as well.
Sky says you can record up to 1,000 hours before needing to delete anything. That’s the equivalent of 500 days of non-stop Peppa Pig, which means you are very unlikely to run out of space. For those of us who like managing downloads, though, there is still the option to delete individual episodes or entire shows.
There are some shows that can’t be recorded. As we saw during the demo, it does not come up as an option with BBC One. We doubt that will be a problem for many, as you can just watch it on the BBC iPlayer partner app.
Smarter voice assistant
Not one to be left behind, Sky is joining a growing number of brands updating its AI voice assistant to “let you search naturally, ask questions about content and discover personalised recommendations”.
The assistant remembers your viewing habits, for instance. We saw this in action when we asked it “show me action movies that I haven’t watched yet”, and it brought up a selection of results.
You can follow up with questions about films, such as “Has Castaway won any awards?” and the assistant will pull information from third-party sources such as Wikipedia to answer. You can only ask it questions about movies and TV shows, as the guardrails in place prevent it from discussing other topics such as politics or what you should eat for dinner.
There’s also been a change to the graphics, including a colourful little wheel that pops up when you hold down the voice button on the remote to show you it is listening. It seems to be just the start for Sky’s assistant, and there is plenty of scope for even more personalised recommendations.
There’s a lot to like with Sky’s fresh OS upgrades, and I’m certainly excited to give it a try myself once the new software is available to the public.
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