New Sky Glass and Sky Stream update: this time it’s personal

Sky is rolling out a raft of new personalisation features to Sky Glass and Sky Stream, including Personalised Playlists, enhanced Bluetooth, a ‘Play’ voice command and Cast & Crew rails.

This is the latest 1.1. update to its Entertainment OS platform and will be available to all subscribers from February 4.

The Personalised Playlist feature allows for the creation of up to five unique playlists, enough for most families to have specific and shared Playlists. It’s Sky’s answer to the ‘profiles’ systems used by Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, amongst others.

On Sky Glass and Sky Stream, Playlists replace local recording. It’s effectively a cloud PVR system. Playlist are created by simply pressing the + button on the remote control, over selected content.

The new Cast and Crew rail simplifies curation when you’re looking for related content from an actor or director you’re enjoying. It’ll show what’s available by them on the platform

The new "Play" command is an enhancement of its voice control interface, allowing for more natural interaction between users and screen. Highlight a show (be it in the Continue Watching rail, Now and Next rail or in the TV Guide or Show Page) using the remote and then say “Play.” If you’re halfway through a show, “Play Last of Us” will pick up exactly where you left off. Say “Play Star Trek” or a similar franchise, and you’ll be taken to a search results page.

Finally, Bluetooth support has also been improved. Sky Glass users can now listen via Bluetooth headphones at the same time as Sky Glass’ speakers are playing, so the hard of hearing can wear headphones while the rest of a household can follow a show via the set’s TV speakers.