All I know is, I've had two "stand alone" low end systems. China. The software was written by Chinese teenagers, and very difficult to navigate and figure out. The files were in some (I've forgotten) format that, if you transferred them off the HD rather than viewing them through the china junk software, my computer had no idea what to do with them.
I REALLY dislike this entire concept, that you "must be connected," and "apps" and "smart phones" for everything. If you want that, fine