AWS has announced the release of the Lambda Function URLs feature, allowing users to create REST APIs backed by Lambda functions without the need for API Gateway. This new feature uses the same schema format as API Gateway payload format 2.0 and allows for CORS support and integration with AWS IAM. Users can benefit from this feature by saving on their AWS bill, using a user-friendly domain for their API, and implementing custom domains, request throttling, and handling different paths. However, there are still reasons to upgrade to API Gateway for advanced features such as securing APIs with Cognito User Pool or OpenID Connect providers, tracking usage by tenant, and building real-time applications.