Further muddying Easy TV’s purported identity: a dedicated AI button on the remote. It seems unlikely that someone who needs their TV to provide near-instant access to technical support needs an AI button.
An easier TV
If OEMs really want to make TVs feel simpler and more familiar to older crowds, they should sell more dumb TVs.
Seniors are definitely streaming, but they’re also the largest remaining demographic of broadcast viewers. In the US, 64 percent of Americans age 65 and older have a cable or satellite subscription, according to Pew Research data.
Senior citizens used dumb TVs for decades. TVs that don’t connect to the Internet can still access streaming services through simple solutions, like streaming sticks or connecting to a computer. With a dumb TV, you don’t have to learn how to operate software that varies among TV brands, think about updates, or worry about privacy. Smart TVs introduced concerns about snooping that today’s older TV viewers lived without for years. Dumb TVs could help protect the less informed without them having to decipher lengthy terms written in tiny print.
