As others have said already, they are just un-obscuring the server API and restoring local control to your speakers when they discontinue the service. There is

As others have said already, they are just un-obscuring the server API and restoring local control to your speakers when they discontinue the service. There is nothing noble about this, it is almost least they could do. I walked away from a large investment in Sonos gear over forcing legacy equipment into the cloud, this sort of thing is why.