It's smarter in the sense that it's a more elegant design that produces a result from fewer and simpler parts, not because it has a bigger brain than one with a

It's smarter in the sense that it's a more elegant design that produces a result from fewer and simpler parts, not because it has a bigger brain than one with a computer in it. The fewer & simpler parts isn't just a win for the manufacturer although all manufacturers are always striving for that. A dumb piece of wire if it does the job, is far smarter and more valuable to the end user than something unnecessarily complex and delicate that will die from something as silly as static or a leaking cap or a fall or a spill or a hot day. Companies produce new products with computers in them not because it's needed or better, but simply because it sells. In a capitalist environment, they must always be making something new and appealing, and it really doesn't matter what defines "new" or "appealing" at any given time.