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Referring to this? I think the article explains it pretty well.
They're not Android TV boxes. This is a sub for boxes that run the Android TV platform, an OS based on Android but optimized for a large display across the room that is controlled via a handheld remote.
Putting the regular Android OS on a box that you connect to your TV is not the same. You've got a touchscreen-based OS on a non-touchscreen in your living room. I think you've made the best out of a shitty product by resetting it, but a lot of people are drawn to these boxes because of all the "services" that come pre-installed. These services can be shut down at any point in time.
The best plan for the consumer is building something made for the living room, assembled by trusted OEMs, and with trusted services available for the user to enjoy. If grandma buys one of these boxes that does illegal streaming and the services get shut down, she's going to blame Google for releasing a shitty "Android TV" box. That kind of negative attention will not help the actual Android TV platform.
Because aside from whatever negative opinions we might have about those Android boxes, this isn't even the sub for them or to be discussing them.
You wouldn't go on /r/dinosaurs and ask why they don't like having discussions about the Nintendo 64 or socialism, in a sub dedicated to dinosaurs, would you?
Because they are NOT AndroidTV devices and do not belong in this sub and really shouldn't be on the market.
A handful of them use okay hardware. Most of them are using scraps from previous generations and are cheaply constructed. The Android OS is then tossed on top and marketed as some all-powerful streaming device. In reality they are slow and buggy, largely due to the subpar hardware and piss poor integration of the software with said subpar hardware.
They are also often marketed based on their Kodi pre-loading and GET ANY MOVIE OR TV SHOW FREE. Sorry, cable isn't free. As much as we love to hate cable companies, we also love a lot of their content. Either pay for it or be upfront about the illegal nature through which you are obtaining it. Marketing these things as being able to give you free content through illegal means, with Kodi's name on it, is just bad business.
And then you have customer support. Oh wait, no you don't. The support is garbage.
The price that people pay for some of them is what really drives me nuts though. Some of them are priced at such a point, why wouldn't you get a shield over it? Or soon, the Xaomi TV?
Android UI is designed for phones/tablets. Android TV UI is designed for control via remote device and display on an large format, distant screen.
There's a disconnect when you run Android in a setting it's not designed for. You get a notification bar. You get hard to read text. You get apps that require a touch (or mouse) input. You often get a limited resolution.
Do they work? Sort of. Are they ideal for operating in that environment? No. Are they relevant to this sub? No - they don't run Android TV.
The number one reason for the disdain is the confusion that those boxes bring. This sub is for official Android TV boxes. Posts about any other boxes distract from the topic that we are here to discuss.
You shouldn't have to do that with a consumer electronic device. Requiring things like a factory reset are not easy for non-tech people. Requiring things like that give the whole Android echo system a bad name when grandma buys those after seeing a deal on Amazon. People get those boxes, plug them in, have a bad experience and then hate on Android TV.