Dolby Atmos and voice control coming to Sky Q

In the past 24 hours Sky has already revealed that Sky Q won't require a satellite dish from 2018 and reiterated some new Sky Q features coming in 2017. But, there's more.

MORE: Sky Q: everything you need to know

In one of the presentations relating to the company's latest financial results, a timeline for Sky Q flags up some interesting new features that haven't been mentioned before.

One of these is phrased as 'Dolby Atmos supported UHD content'. The object-based surround sound format is already available on Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, and BT has announced it will start broadcasting 4K Premier League broadcasts with Dolby Atmos sound. Given Sky's growing catalogue of 4K content, adding Dolby Atmos would appear the next logical step. So would support for HDR, but there's no mention of that on Sky's timeline.

The company has said voice search will arrive on Sky Q in 2017, but it appears voice control is also on the way. Assuming it uses the mic that currently lies dormant inside Sky Q's touchpad remote, we're intrigued to see just how powerful and capable it is and whether Sky will have its very own version of Amazon's Alexa.

MORE: Sky Ultra HD hands on

Other features on the roadmap include 'personalised favourite channels', 'autoplay at credit' and 'Sky sound system'. The last of these is mentioned in the same breath as Dolby Atmos, but could this hint at something bigger to come in the sound department?

Autoplay at credit seems to suggest Sky Q will be able to play the next instalment of your favourite box-set with even less of a gap between episodes; favourite channels is a feature many users have been asking for since the launch of the service.

Whether all these features actually make it to Sky Q only time will tell, but we're excited to see how (and when) all the new additions slot into place over the coming months.

MORE: Sky Q review

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Andy Madden

Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.