I would say that 6 years is quite good. Phone batteries are supposed to be replaced every two years, and if you got it replaced then you could have kept using it until 2024.
Have you tried a contract? With a price comparison site (they get exclusive prices) they are actually quite cheap and are often cheaper than a phone + SIM only.
A HTPC requires a tech savvy person with a lot of free time. A Google TV box is better for most as they are as easy to use as the TVs own OS but don't have the crapware.
Buy an Onn / Thomson box, set it to apps only mode, and there you are. They're Google TV so Netflix is just as easy to use on it as on the TV itself, and as Google TV is Android based you can sideload whatever apps you want, copyright law compliant be damned.
I am okay with illegal immigrants being turned away as we have no idea about their criminal history and ignoring them allows drug dealers and gangs to sneak through.
But this is too far. Taking away the citizenship of those who have worked to legally become American for no reason but to hit a quota is not okay.
Onn / Thomson sticks seem to be the best available option.
They use the Google TV OS but you can turn off the tracking (Advertising ID / Usage Data / Personal Results) and enable apps only mode to disable Google's crap and have a clean UI with just your apps.
How does even a single Lemmy client work on that?