Yes bricking them is hard. But as we grow older we like to have things as recall them, as that reduce cognitive load. But TVs etc are crap at reverting to last good state (as defined by user, not OEM or some automagical system).
Also, last thing you want is for it to be stuck in some "useless" state when it is needed...
It's almost impossible to to mess one of these devices up (other than malware) for good, but I think most people who are not very technology literate see them as precariously balanced items that crumble at the slightest touch.