This is basically what a Chromecast was. Internally they were basically just an appliance that booted to a very minimal version of Chrome which could be remote

This is basically what a Chromecast was. Internally they were basically just an appliance that booted to a very minimal version of Chrome which could be remote controlled by a compatible application, web site, or device. It was a neat concept but I always found it annoying to have to keep going back to the app to control it when I was doing something else, or keep a tab open in my web browser, and it would often disconnect the session so no one could control it without just stopping and restarting entirely. You can still use that interaction model on the newer Chromecast-branded devices but they're also full-fat Android TV devices that can be used standalone with a dedicated remote control and run actual apps, which I think is a nice balance.