Smart TVs, once a luxury option, are now the standard offering in the TV space. When you walk into an electronics store or shop online for a new TV, almost every model you find will be a smart TV, and they're available at an affordable price.

And while they have a lot of benefits, you shouldn't buy a smart TV without thinking about it carefully. Let's look at what a smart TV actually does, and several reasons why you shouldn't buy a smart TV.

What Is a Smart TV?

Smart TVs are TVs that have the built-in capability to connect to the internet. This means that your TV itself gets online, instead of having to use a connected device like a Roku box or gaming console to access online services.

Because smart TVs are connected to the internet, they usually let you download apps like you would on your phone. Most smart TV platforms have apps for major streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, plus offerings for major TV networks and more niche services. You can also use them to browse the web, access other resources on your home network, stream from other computers and phones in your house, and more depending on your model.

That's what a smart TV does that a regular TV doesn't. Not all TVs are smart; a "dumb" TV doesn't connect to the internet, so it's simply a display device for whatever you connect to it (much like a computer monitor).

Having your TV online is definitely useful, and their affordable pricing means that you don't have to shell out extra for these features (or buy a separate streaming box). But we still think non-smart TVs, or alternative devices, have a worthy place in your home. And you shouldn't purchase a TV primarily because of its smart features or OS.

Let's examine some disadvantages of smart TVs.

1. Smart TV Security and Privacy Risks Are Real

When you consider buying any "smart" product—which is any device that has the ability to connect to the internet—security should always be a top concern. Every internet-ready device contributes to the Internet of Things (IoT), which is arguably one of the worst security nightmares today.

As it turns out, smart TVs are one of the worst offenders in this area. They put your privacy and security at risk in several ways; even the FBI has issued warnings about the risks of smart TVs.

Nearly all smart TVs use automatic content recognition (ACR) to track what you're watching. They use this information to show you more relevant ads. While you can often limit the collection of this data, it's usually difficult to find or reverse. Do you really want to share everything you watch with your TV manufacturer?

Another major security problem with smart TVs is a lack of updates. Every platform is dependent on its provider for app and OS updates. If you have a TV that no longer receives updates, or takes a long time to receive software patches, your TV could be a vulnerable point on your network.

Finally, some smart TVs have integrated cameras, and most have a microphone. Malicious actors could take advantage of the above security vulnerabilities to spy on you through your webcam. And it isn't just hackers abusing this: in 2015, CNN reported that Samsung's privacy policy included a statement about transmitting your conversations to a third party.

Whether from a hacker or your TV manufacturer, that's a lot of data up for collection when you just want to watch something on your TV.

2. Other Streaming Devices Are Superior

The main draw of smart TVs is that you can access Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and similar services right from your TV. While this idea is great, those services aren't exclusive to smart TVs. And in fact, you can get a lot more from an alternative device.

Options like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast are far better platforms. They offer less convoluted interfaces that are easier to navigate than your smart TV's OS. The app selection is likely greater than what your smart TV's app store offers. And depending on what ecosystems you already use, these platforms offer greater convenience and integration with your phone and other devices.

Apple TV 4K streaming player box with Siri remote

For example, the Amazon Fire TV Stick has an Alexa-enabled remote control, allowing you to launch your favorite shows by voice without fumbling through menus. If you have a lot of Apple devices, the Apple TV makes it easy to share media from your iPhone or iPad. For most people, these perks are far better than suffering through what's included on your smart TV.

In short, set-top boxes like the Apple TV and streaming sticks like the Chromecast do everything your smart TV can do, but better. They're inexpensive and much more flexible. And since you can add them to any TV, your television set itself remains a simple display while the device handles what you're watching.

While a smart TV may become obsolete after a few years, you can easily replace your streaming device or take it with you to a new TV. For help deciding which device is right for you, have a look at our comparison of Amazon Fire, Roku, and Apple TV.

3. Smart TVs Have Inefficient Interfaces

tv remote in front of a blurred TV display

Smart functionality requires a suitable interface. Smartphones and computers are great because they both support two important input methods: typing and pointing. Most smart TVs are terrible at both, and this can lead to a lot of frustration.

When you want to sit down and watch something on a smart TV, it's actually a lot more work than you'd expect. While it's not overwhelming, it makes what should be a fun experience inconvenient at best.

One major example searching for a particular TV show or movie on a streaming service. With a regular TV remote, typing is a hair-pulling affair that could take up to a dozen button presses per letter typed. While most smart TVs have microphone support, the stock solution is often spotty (and likely requires sharing voice data with your TV manufacturer).

On the other hand, most streaming boxes come with remotes that have superior voice assistants. Some of them also have mobile TV remote apps, which support typing out your searches on a smartphone or tablet.

And that's only one issue. Many smart TVs are plagued with generally poor interfaces that take a lot of button presses to get anywhere and hide important settings where you might miss them. Even the remote control can be confusing, hiding some functions behind colors or letters that aren't at all clear.

Some modern smart TVs improve this by allowing you to use the remote as a pointer, but this isn't a universal option. If you have an older smart TV that no longer receives updates, you could be stuck with these poor interfaces for a long time.

4. Smart TV Performance Is Often Unreliable

Using smart TV apps to watch content is convenient, but the apps are almost always inferior to what's available on your phone or computer. In addition to the interface issues discussed earlier, another problem is that smart TVs don't have nearly as much processing power as other devices.

Poor performance and neglect from app developers are both common issues. Most smart TV users have experienced input lag when pressing buttons, freezing and crashing when apps try to do something intensive, and other performance-related issues. This leads to you having to kill apps and restart them, which is never fun.

Samsung TV Apps homepage

Smart TVs also run into glitches. For example, I've seen an issue where the YouTube app on my older Samsung smart TV overlapped video titles with the item below, making them near-impossible to read. I had to re-pair my Bluetooth headphones with my old Samsung smart TV almost every time I used them. And any time I disconnected an HDMI cable and reconnected it, the TV forgot the name I had set for that input and made me replace its shortcut icon.

Even the apps themselves can be limited in features. For example, the YouTube app for TVs only gained the option to let you change the playback speed in 2021, even though that feature was available on both desktop and mobile for years before this. However, the speed-up feature didn't even work properly on my Samsung TV—if you sped up the video, it muted the audio. It's thus a near-worthless setting.

These issues aren't really a surprise. Content providers have to juggle compatibility for a lot of platforms these days, including web players, smartphone apps, tablet apps, third-party devices like Roku and Chromecast, and smart TVs. Smart TVs, being less widely used than smartphones and computers, thus receive lower priority.

This brings up another potential issue: the usefulness of your smart TV is limited by the apps that are available for it. If content providers stop updating their smart TV apps for whatever reason, your smart TV loses a big chunk of what makes it "smart." Some smart TVs also have a limited amount of space, so you might not be able to install all the apps you want to use.

In just a few years from now, your smart TV might end up becoming a dumb TV through no fault of your own. If that happens, you'll have to rely on set-top boxes and other streaming methods anyway. Think carefully about whether a smart TV is an essential smart home purchase for you.

Are Smart TVs Worth It?

Smart TVs have a lot of advantages, so we aren't necessarily trying to dissuade you from buying one. However, it's important for you to know why smart TVs aren't always everything they're cracked up to be.

The security and privacy issues are some of the biggest drawbacks, but clunky interfaces and glitches are hindrances too. You could argue that smart TVs have dropped in price because they're a ripe platform for data collection, so you pay in other ways.

If, after reading all of this, you still want to buy a smart TV, go for it. It's pretty difficult to find a quality TV that's not smart, so if you want, you can avoid connecting your smart TV to the internet to keep it "dumb." You can always supplement the TV with a streaming box if you decide to go online later.

Thankfully, there are plenty of solid smart TVs on the market if you do decide to spring for one.