I think that definitely applies when you have updatable software or software that interacts with something updatable, but less so for the 8 bit embedded MCU stuff typically used to replace hardware.
If you, say, use a microcontroller to soft start a motor instead of making it bigger, or use a capsense pad instead of a switch(Yes they can be obnoxious, but at least they last!), you are unlikely to get into a permanent bricked state because you're not writing to flash at all.
Your failure modes might increase in number as software complexity increases, but for the most part they stay ephemeral.
I'm not sure exactly why experiences are so varied on things like smart TVs and WiFi printers. I have the "Smart" version of almost everything, and it usually works very well, but some people seem to have generally bad experiences.
I think some of it might be because they only test on fairly generic consumer setups with the latest stock Android, no firewall, no VPN, Bluetooth never turned off, no custom DNS, gmail for the email account, etc, and more tech savvy people tend to have a few things that modern tech doesn't like.
It always seems like people who tinker have problems other people don't. I also notice iOS users seem to have trouble with random gadgets and peripherals not being too happy, but a my iPhone using friends aren't a big sample size.
If I was designing a product, I'd definitely be more careful, but as a user at home, I tend to avoid anything heavily customized, so I don't usually see as many of the bugs.