Most of it is ease and cost - it's easier to make it happen with a central server versus setting it up to make it easy to do it standalone. Plus the date. Plus there seems to be an increasing flirtation with the idea of additional "forcing obsolescence" with software already - look at the past 5-10 years of trying to bolt on online requirements for video games that don't need to have it. And we've already had at least 3 public shutdowns of servers involved in IOT that has effectively bricked devices, starting with the thermostat company that Google bought.

Incidentally, I'd love for my fridge to be able to tell me if I've left something in it too long, the problem is that even what I know about the current state of Fridge IOT is that they actually don't really do that, at least not without a hell of a lot of help that would be better handled with a whiteboard mounted next to the fridge where you keep track of when you put things in the fridge. And they come with central server requirements anyway, which is currently a non-starter in this house, even without the security problems that have been continually cropping up.