Am really torn whether to get it or not... I know that the performance difference is huge, but, is it worth paying 179$? And from updates perspective, is it similar or faster than Sony? I can see that Shield is rolling out Oreo update now, where Sony promised that 2017 Smart TVs will get it with no ETA. Note: I have PS4 and Xbox one x.
Yes if you want to play UHD Remux (Untouched, quality wise) or if you want all sound formats that your Sony doesn't support. True HD, DTS-HD MA etc.
Updates are always faster on the shield. The Shield was on Nougat (7.0) while our Sony TV was still on Lollipop (5.0)... It is(was) now on Nougat but my Shield has Oreo now.
Given you have an Xbox 1, no you don't need it unless you are into Android gaming on tv or intend to use it as a Plex server, or you're into collecting STBs and remotes.
It depends on what you use it for. Performance is much better but the built in OS is better for streaming services (auto color space switching, far superior scaling for non 4K content).
It depends if you want to game on Android TV, Shield will be better for that purpose. If you don't I would say no. I wouldn't be too bothered about the update to Oreo, personally I prefer the previous UI