I wonder if this isn't "planned obsolescence." Maybe that's part of the gig with the tv manufacturers. After some amount of use (and newer models released), the older tvs aren't a priority. When an update breaks something important to you, you buy a new tv. It's a win/win for TCL & Roku. (TCL has you buying a new TV sooner, blaming it on Roku). Roku doesn't have to test their updates for older tvs. They have TCL's blessing. (Good cop, bad cop.).
You have to admit, that's easier to believe than a company really operating this carelessly (shamelessly, without accountability from the tv makers). It wouldn't surprise me if this is a gambit for "you rent your tv. We're feature changing so quickly that you'll *want* to upgrade. We're just facilitating that for you. We would actually do a *disservice* to you if we kept your tv working flawlessly for 10 years."
That is seriously more believable than a company conducting itself the way we see it as consumers (expecting our tvs to last 10 years), and perplexed at Roku's seeming tone deafness (like they think they're doing a good job in the face of perplexed customers) . There's gotta be something behind it.
"People are often amazed at how much we’ve done with the number of engineers we’ve got." (Roku CEO Anthony Wood, Austin Statesman, Oct 4, 2019). "Amazed" is one way of putting it.
