Sky Glass vs Amazon Fire TV Omni – which smart TV to buy | The Sun

ANYONE in the market for a smart TV should have Sky Glass and Amazon’s Fire Omni TV on their radar.

We've put both of them head-to-head to help you decide which will work best for you: read on to find out more.

  • Sky Glass 43-inch, £699 – buy from Sky
  • Amazon 43-inch Fire TV Omni, £549.99 now £339.99 – buy from Amazon

Sky and Amazon are leading the way when it comes to the new generation of smart TVs.

Sky Glass and Amazon’s Fire Omni series come with impressive specs like 4K viewing, Dolby sound, and streaming all rolled into one.

Both are relatively new additions in the streaming world, with Sky Glass hitting the market in October 2021, and the Fire Omni series launching as recently as April.

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They are excellent choices for anybody on the hunt for a smart TV with built-in streaming.

So the question is: are you team Sky or Amazon?

In this article, we’re going to take a look at both smart TVs to help you choose which will work best for you.

We’ve looked at everything from price and screen quality, to what features you can expect, and whether you can access both platforms on your chosen set. 

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To see how the Glass compares to Sky's TV box, read our Sky Glass vs Sky Stream explainer. To see how it matches up to Sky's more traditional set-top box, head to our Sky Glass vs Sky Q guide.

Sky has just released a wave of Sky Black Friday deals, which will run until 28 November, and we will be reporting the best of the bunch.

You'll also find the best Amazon Black Friday deals this month, including on its popular Fire TVs.

BEST SKY GLASS DEAL

Now is the time to jump on the Sky Glass bandwagon, with Sky Entertainment & Netflix for an incredible £33p/m in an early Black Friday deal, saving £125 over the contract.

  • Sky Glass with Sky Entertainment & Netflix, £33p/m – buy from Sky

Sky Glass vs Amazon Fire TV Omni: price

One of the major differences between Sky Glass and Amazon Fire Omni is in the pricing structure, with Sky favouring its subscription-based model, and Amazon marketing its smart TVs as a stand-alone purchase.

With Sky Glass, you pay for the hardware upfront or in instalments over 24 or 48 months, depending on your preference, and an upfront fee.

Its smallest TV, the 43-inch model starts from £699 upfront, or £14p/m over 48 months and £28p/m over 24 months with up to £20 to pay upfront.

On top of this, you’ll need to factor in the cost of your Sky TV subscription, with the basic package, Sky Entertainment & Netflix starting at £26 over 18 months or £29 on a 31-day rolling contract.

Of course, it's also highly customizable with add-ons such as Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, or BT Sports, which you can include at extra cost.

Amazon, on the other hand, is a simpler affair, with its Fire Omni TVs sold as a standalone product, with a one-off payment for the hardware.

There are four sizes to choose from starting from £549.99 for the 43-inch model, and up to £849.99 for the largest 65-inch set.

And if you don’t want to pay more you can enjoy the huge library of content on Freeview and streaming apps like iPlayer, ITVX, and All4.

But you can also access paid streaming services like Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video with zero obligation.

Both retailers run frequent sales, with Sky Glass £170 cheaper right now, and huge Amazon device deals live ahead of its Prime Day event next month – so there is plenty of opportunity to save.

Sky Glass

  • Sky Glass Small 43-inch TV, £699 – buy from Sky
  • Sky Glass Medium 55-inch TV, £949 – buy from Sky
  • Sky Glass Large 65-inch TV, £1199 – buy from Sky

Amazon Fire TV Omni series

  • Amazon Fire TV 43-inch Omni QLED series, £549.99 now £339.99 – buy from Amazon
  • Amazon Fire TV 50-inch Omni QLED series, £649.99 now £449.99 – buy from Amazon
  • Amazon Fire TV 55-inch Omni QLED series, £749.99 now £499.99 – buy from Amazon
  • Amazon Fire TV 65-inch Omni QLED series, £849.99 now £749.99 – buy from Amazon

Sky Glass vs Amazon Fire TV Omni: screen quality

If you’ve been hunting for a smart TV, you will have seen plenty of retailers boasting of HD, OLED, or QLED displays, and while it sounds impressive it can be a guessing game to get to grips with.

OLED is the gold standard on the market, with a hefty price tag to match that’ll set you back thousands, so QLED displays are marketed as a more affordable alternative.

Both the Sky Glass and Fire TV Omni are on par, featuring QLED displays – so there’s no rivalry where the screen quality is concerned.

QLED displays make use of the impressive-sounding quantum dot technology, which forms an extra layer in front of the backlight to create the colours you see on screen.

Simply put, you can expect a brighter and crisper display when getting a QLED display.

While we haven’t tested Amazon’s offering, our Tech and Science Editor Sean Keach tested Sky's product and in his Sky Glass review he was mightily impressed by the “vivid and sharp" display.

Sky Glass vs Amazon Fire TV Omni: features

As you’d expect from Sky and Amazon tech, there are some great features to be enjoyed on both TV sets.

Both feature their own brand of voice command features, with Amazon's familiar Alexa taking centre stage on the Omni TV – but unlike on its predecessors, you won't need a remote to use it.

Similarly, with Sky Glass, you get the "Hello Sky" voice command search, which lets you pause, play, rewind, and search on the Sky interface.

You'll also get motion technology on both the Glass and Omni sets, which turns the TV on and off when it detects you're in the room.

Sky's Glance Motion technology wakes the screen when you walk into the room and switches off after inactivity.

With the Omni series, you gain the exclusive Ambient Experience, which displays useful widgets and personalised content over landscape photos and art, with Alexa at the ready.

Something to consider when purchasing any piece of streaming kit is how important being able to record content is for you, as it doesn't come with the territory.

Amazon's Omni TVs don't come with recording capabilities, but you will be able to make use of catch-up TV services, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV X, and more.

Sky Glass on the other hand offers its playlist feature, which allows you to bank certain content for a limited time – but it has other products like Sky Q if you want to be able to record.

Sky has also just developed a new accessory for its Glass TV with Sky Live, which works as an interactive video camera.

It lets users video call, watch TV with family, play games and even do fitness classes.

Our Tech and Science reporter Jamie Harris recently tested Sky’s brand new TV accessory and gave his verdict on whether it's worth adding to the basket.

  • Sky Live, £242 (was £290) – buy from Sky

Sky Glass vs Amazon Fire TV Omni: design

While both TVs are modern and trendy, there is one clear standout star here, and it has to be Sky Glass.

Unlike most smart TVs, Sky Glass comes in five colours, including Anthracite Black, Ocean Blue, Racing Green, Dusky Pink, and Ceramic White.

Its unique look also features a squared off design with a barely there bezel and a wide bottom edge which houses the built-in Dolby speakers.

But it's also one of the most customisable on the market, with users able to mix and match the speaker grille cover, and you can even pick up customisable speaker fascia for under £20.

The thin rectangular base also gives the Glass a subtle floating quality – so all in all, the Sky Glass definitely prioritises looks.

While the Fire Omni is a stylish TV, it adopts an unremarkable and more conventional design.

You won't get the level of choice you get with Sky Glass when it comes to the colour, it only comes in silver with a plastic body and standard A-frame feet at either end.

But it will be much easier to wall mount than Sky's offering, which will need to be professionally installed if required.

  • Sky Glass TV Speaker Fascia 43-inch, Marble, £19.99 – buy from Sky
  • Sky Glass TV Speaker Fascia 55-inch, Onyx, £24.99 – buy from Sky
  • Sky Glass TV Speaker Fascia 65-inch, Sapphire, £29.99 – buy from Sky

Can you use Amazon Fire on Sky Glass?

You may also ask yourself whether you can access the Amazon Fire platform on Sky Glass, which is possible with the addition of a plug-in Fire TV Stick, which starts from under £35.

It is handy to know for those that want the best of both worlds and are willing to switch between the two interfaces.

There is also the ability to use Sky Glass without Sky TV, but naturally, Sky's technology is so ingrained in the Glass and geared towards it that it's not recommended.

We've rounded up the best Sky deals this month for those of you leaning towards the Sky camp, so check them out before buying.

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  • Fire TV Stick Lite with Alexa Voice Remote Lite, £34.99 – buy from Amazon

Discover more top deals and savings at your favourite tech retailers by heading to Sun Vouchers. Sun Vouchers is the one-stop shop where you can find hundreds of discount codes for top chains including Currys, Argos, AliExpress, and more.

For all the latest special offers from the telecom giant, don't miss our pick of the best Sky deals this month.

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