Hi there!
So I am looking to buy a new TV, but the latest smart-TVs all seem to be very bloated with ads and other ridiculous and unnecessary features. I know very little about TVs, and therefore wondering if anyone has any tips on some good TVs that include as little bloat as possible.
Thanks for any recommendations or tips!
The Apple TV’s only real competition is the nVidia Shield which is actually more expensive.
Unfortunately the majority of these devices are subsidized by ads and data gathering and most people care more about price than experience.
Shield has ads now, too. Even though I blocked the domains, it just keeps showing the same ads from when I first installed it. I am so sick of them. 
Considering how much it costs, that sucks. You might be able to replace the launcher, I did that with the built in Google TV interface on my Sony TV for a while. The only problem is that it wasn’t reliable and somehow ran slower, even though it had no ads.
The Apple TV has ads in the TV app, but I never use it since so many services don’t integrate with it. I also just don’t find the concept that useful. I don’t need all my services available in one app. I’m fine with just having a grid of apps I jump between.