FWIW, Philips just did something even worse with their Hue system, essentially forcing "legacy" (v1) Hue customers to spend $50 to buy a v2 Bridge if they wanted the system to keep working as usual.
I haven't used a v2 bridge, but v1 bridge I have is horribly slow and underpowered.
I'm more annoyed by the API changes they've made over time that broke my integration with the bridge. At least there is a local LAN integration option though, and you aren't forced to integrate with a remote service that might be shut down unexpectedly.
Coincidentally, this was a few years after they backpedaled on a decision to disallow control of non-Hue bulbs (https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2015/12/12/philips-hue-bl...) after public outcry.