Actually, a LOT of people stream with a smart TV instead of a separate device. More than half in the US.
https://gitnux.org/smart-tv-sales-statistics/
This tends to track with what I see in my family and friend’s homes. People tend to do couch streaming via the smart TV’s apps.
Personally, I think a fast, separate HDMI CEC device is a MUCH better user experience, and it’s still one remote. But for whatever reason, a lot of people aren’t opting to go with a separate AppleTV, GoogleTV ChromeCast, Roku, game console, etc.
But do they use it because it’s there, or do they actually go out and buy a TV because of the smart features? I’d much rather have a separate device (and do) than use the built in smart features. I would greatly prefer to buy a TV with no smart features and just continue using my AppleTV than have to buy a new TV every time the built in system stopped getting updates.
There was a time when people were buying the smart TV because Netflix and Apple were then apps on the TV and used the same remote.
But the apps are old and crunchy, the tv shovels ads at you, and the steamers are no longer offering the value required to make smart TVs a prime consolidation target.
I am looking forward to the contraction of the market and a shift back to “just a TV with 4 HDMIs” models. No tuners even.
Upgraded my £200 dumb LCD to a £1000 OLED 3 years ago. My wife much prefers the simplicity and reliability of the TV remote and inbuilt smart features over separate devices. It’s all personal preference
We were that way as well for a few years. Then the updates cause the sluggishness of the internal processor to become apparent… and then the updates stop completely. An internal smart system can’t be upgraded, external ones can. Not to mention that the HDMI spec will auto start the TVs and put it to the right input automatically when you turn in a connected device.
