Don't worry, Apple TV will soon get ads and the experience will be much the same as the "Smart" TVs.
I'm pretty sure the smart features were put into TVs so they could become the one entertainment device just like those external set top boxes in the early 2000's. All consumer media hardware is headed in this direction of having advertisements, even in paid/subscription services. I base this on the fact that Foxtel (effectively the one and only paid TV service in Australia) has more ads per hour than free to air TV as people that pay a subscription are considered to have a higher income than ones that don't.
Adding ads to a product is one of the easiest ways to get a huge bonus. All of the revenue is attributed to you and most of the reputation is diffused throughout the company and only occurs much later.
This almost guarantees that at lesson one person is working on it, without a strong customer focused leadership it’s hard to say no to that amount of money.
Yes, when you accidentally tap an address and you don’t have Maps installed but you have Google Maps installed, it will entirely ignore the better maps service and force you to the Maps installation on the app store.
Maps has sent me to cornfields a few too many times to be trustworthy. It’s incredibly annoying that they refuse to let me choose google maps to open an address. Anti-trust needs to step in some day.
It doesn't compare to Frank's 2000 inch tv... But 48" is plenty. If you need more than that you can get a projector. Vote with your money and don't buy smart TVs! They're almost universally user-hostile trash.
I just use a PC plugged into my TV, and a wireless keyboard/trackpad. I don’t see a reason to get an Apple TV or similar —- typing anything is such a pain, and the trend is that no matter what, you’re eventually gonna see some ads. Ublock Origin in a browser is still working great, though.
You mean for advertising, showing timetables, etc?
Those are usually "digital signage" panels. Colors may or may not be OK on those, but there are two things to keep in mind:
1. They are outrageously expensive because they're made to be run blindingly bright 24/7.
2. They are less and less dumb, complete with ridiculously long startup times.
The company I work for uses these. And while a few years ago only the higher-priced ones used to feature "smart" features, the "cheaper" ones now have them, too. Now, in our case, we like those because it allows us to control the screens from a central location, and they don't require setting up a Raspberry Pi or similar to show content on them. But "dumb" they are not anymore.
They're typically running some form of Android or Samsung's Tizen. I don't directly use them, so I don't know the details, but a quick glance at Samsung's website seems to show that consumer models use Tizen, too.
I wonder how difficult it would be to stand up a new panel manufacturer or just tv manufacturer? The current prices of TVs makes it seem cheaper than the past, but could be just locking out entrants.
I'm pretty sure the smart features were put into TVs so they could become the one entertainment device just like those external set top boxes in the early 2000's. All consumer media hardware is headed in this direction of having advertisements, even in paid/subscription services. I base this on the fact that Foxtel (effectively the one and only paid TV service in Australia) has more ads per hour than free to air TV as people that pay a subscription are considered to have a higher income than ones that don't.