I only discovered local-first recently. Indeed, with only 1 node doing self-hosting of any app there seems to be no difference, but that’s a narrow view. The local-first apps are a new concept, using new data structures (e.g. CRDTs), you can read more in a non-technical ‘manifesto’ here: https://www.inkandswitch.com/local-first/ this is indeed a highly cited article within the movement.