Are you referring to the current limitations on which devices and SmartApps are able to run locally?
If so, that is something where we will very rapidly expand the list in the coming days and weeks. Covering anything that is certified and is able to be controlled locally (i.e. any device that doesn’t rely on cloud-to-cloud integration).
The current limitation while we harden the AppEngine component of our Hub firmware is that the local Device Type Handlers and SmartApps are actually packaged in with Hub firmware updates for all users. So we need to proceed with some caution. It also seems further away than it actually is right now since any given SmartApp will fall back to cloud processing if even a single device that it uses isn’t certified to run locally. So even though Smart Lighting works locally, it falls back to cloud if a Hue is included since that isn’t marked to run locally yet (even though it will be soon).
As I said, the list will expand quickly over the coming days and weeks to cover all the most popular scenarios. For me, that means Smart Home Monitor, Smart Lighting, and Routines will all be able to execute locally even if Internet is down.
Our definite goal will be able to support the sandboxing someday so that a developer could get their own SmartApps and DTHs to run locally if desired, independent of what happens across the broad consumer base.
I hope that helps! I will ask Jeff Hagins to write a post on this topic to make everything more clear.
Alex