We use AppleTVs instead of using any smart TV interface. Better integration with streaming providers overall. So it doesn’t matter how smart the TVs are and you can use WiFi or direct Ethernet connection.
There are a couple of reasons to use an Apple TV (or Roku) instead of using the “smart” part of a smart TV. These include:
Privacy: many (most?) smart TVs report back what shows you watch. In fact, some cheap TV manufacturers make more money selling this info about you than the original sale.
Consistency: I really like that our two TV UIs are exactly the same. They sync up so that when I add an app on one, the other reflects the change. No confusion. Especially since our two TVs are different brands and thus have different smart TV UIs.
Speed: it’s not often a huge deal, but Smart TVs use slower (cheap) processors and so the UI is pretty laggy. Apple TVs (and late model Rokus) are much snappier.
Updating streaming (and other) apps is much easier than on some Smart TVs. the OS on some older Smart TVs doesn’t get updated anymore either.
Other random things I really like about the Apple TV. I can use my phone to type on the TV for things like searching. It also manages all the passwords for all the streaming apps so I don’t have to enter in the passwords over and over.
I use one Tablo to receive OTA broadcasts and can watch the content from it on any of our TVs using the Tablo Apple TV app.
The Apple TV also has some decent games - visiting youngsters can be entertained with games from Apple’s Arcade.
Wired ethernet is better for streaming video content, but if you are using the latest WiFi , it’s not too bad these days.
