BetterComms 0.1.19

BetterComms 0.1.19

This patch release includes the mobile layout fixes and adaptive native glasses video sender from 0.1.18, plus two call resize fixes found during late combined-code review. All packages are built from the same release commit using Wails v3. Native media remains experimental; the 720×1280 at 30 fps setting is a capture target, not a guaranteed delivery rate.

Downloads

• Windows x64: download the windows-x64-setup.exe installer. It is unsigned and requires Microsoft WebView2 Evergreen.
• macOS Apple Silicon: download the macos-arm64.dmg.
• macOS Intel: download the macos-x64.dmg.
• iPhone/iPad: download the experimental ios-arm64-adhoc.ipa. It targets iOS 17.2+ and must be re-signed with your Apple certificate and a matching provisioning profile before installation. This is an ad hoc cryptographic signature, not an Apple Ad Hoc distribution profile or a TestFlight build. Preserve the Wi-Fi Information and Hotspot Configuration entitlements needed by Meta camera transport.
• SHA256SUMS.txt contains the package checksums.

macOS requires version 15 or later. Drag BetterComms into Applications. These apps are ad hoc signed, not notarized or signed with Developer ID; use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway if macOS blocks them. Each Mac download is a single DMG, without an extra nested ZIP.

Changes

• Active Windows camera overlays survive switching to the compact call layout when the window narrows. More can show or hide the overlay in compact windows; leaving the call still closes it.

• Direct-call chat defaults follow screen resizing until you choose to open or close chat; explicit choices remain intact.

• Phones use bottom navigation and conversation drawers, with cameras filling the available call stage in portrait and landscape.

• Six 44 px call controls fit at 320 px. Camera source selection, recording and layout actions live in More, while call status has a separate row.

• Direct-call chat has a Back to call action; touch messages reveal actions; screen focus can be cleared without stopping watched media. Camera docking and Reset layout remain available on phones. Unsupported fullscreen actions stay hidden.

• Native iPhone glasses video retains its 720×1280/30 fps target. H.264 starts at 3 Mbps and adapts between 1 and 8 Mbps using fresh receiver loss and bitrate feedback. The most constrained viewer limits the shared encoder.

• Receiver recovery requests produce native keyframes without restarting the glasses session. Sustained queue delay catches up at a fresh keyframe, and rejected bitrate updates keep capture running.

• Release workflow actions are pinned to commit hashes, and the Windows pacing test measures its cadence after frame setup.

Limits

Glasses connection repeatability, real remote 720×1280/30 fps delivery, and background/locked-phone video remain unverified. iOS sharing does not capture other apps or continue as a full-phone broadcast. macOS does not provide Windows process capture or application audio. Linux has no published native package. iOS microphone effects and voice balancing are bypassed on its direct microphone path. Packaged authentication and native media still require the platform/device acceptance gates documented in docs/WAILS_COMPLETION.md, docs/IOS_EXPERIMENT.md, and docs/NATIVE_MEDIA_BOUNDARY.md.

The hosted client is available at https://app.bettrcomms.com. TURN deployment and cross-network acceptance remain outstanding. Recordings and rewind retain the limitations in docs/RELEASE_NOTES.md.

BetterComms 0.1.18

BetterComms 0.1.18

This release combines the mobile layout fixes and adaptive native glasses video sender. All packages are built from the same release commit using Wails v3. Native media remains experimental; the 720×1280 at 30 fps setting is a capture target, not a guaranteed delivery rate.

Downloads

• Windows x64: download the windows-x64-setup.exe installer. It is unsigned and requires Microsoft WebView2 Evergreen.
• macOS Apple Silicon: download the macos-arm64.dmg.
• macOS Intel: download the macos-x64.dmg.
• iPhone/iPad: download the experimental ios-arm64-adhoc.ipa. It targets iOS 17.2+ and must be re-signed with your Apple certificate and a matching provisioning profile before installation. This is an ad hoc cryptographic signature, not an Apple Ad Hoc distribution profile or a TestFlight build. Preserve the Wi-Fi Information and Hotspot Configuration entitlements needed by Meta camera transport.
• SHA256SUMS.txt contains the package checksums.

macOS requires version 15 or later. Drag BetterComms into Applications. These apps are ad hoc signed, not notarized or signed with Developer ID; use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway if macOS blocks them. Each Mac download is a single DMG, without an extra nested ZIP.

Changes

• Phones use bottom navigation and conversation drawers, with cameras filling the available call stage in portrait and landscape.
• Six 44 px call controls fit at 320 px. Camera source selection, recording and layout actions live in More, while call status has a separate row.
• Direct-call chat has a Back to call action; touch messages reveal actions; screen focus can be cleared without stopping watched media. Camera docking and Reset layout remain available on phones. Unsupported fullscreen actions stay hidden.
• Native iPhone glasses video retains its 720×1280/30 fps target. H.264 starts at 3 Mbps and adapts between 1 and 8 Mbps using fresh receiver loss and bitrate feedback. The most constrained viewer limits the shared encoder.
• Receiver recovery requests produce native keyframes without restarting the glasses session. Sustained queue delay catches up at a fresh keyframe, and rejected bitrate updates keep capture running.
• Release workflow actions are pinned to commit hashes, and the Windows pacing test measures its cadence after frame setup.

Limits

Glasses connection repeatability, real remote 720×1280/30 fps delivery, and background/locked-phone video remain unverified. iOS sharing does not capture other apps or continue as a full-phone broadcast. macOS does not provide Windows process capture or application audio. Linux has no published native package. iOS microphone effects and voice balancing are bypassed on its direct microphone path. Packaged authentication and native media still require the platform/device acceptance gates documented in docs/WAILS_COMPLETION.md, docs/IOS_EXPERIMENT.md, and docs/NATIVE_MEDIA_BOUNDARY.md.

The hosted client is available at https://app.bettrcomms.com. TURN deployment and cross-network acceptance remain outstanding. Recordings and rewind retain the limitations in docs/RELEASE_NOTES.md.

BetterComms 0.1.17

BetterComms 0.1.17

This release replaces the older desktop packages with Wails v3 builds from the same commit as the web app. Native media features remain experimental; latest means the current downloadable release, not completion of every native acceptance gate.

Downloads

• Windows x64: download the windows-x64-setup.exe installer. It is unsigned and requires Microsoft WebView2 Evergreen.
• macOS Apple Silicon: download the macos-arm64.dmg.
• macOS Intel: download the macos-x64.dmg.
• iPhone/iPad: download the experimental ios-arm64-adhoc.ipa. It targets iOS 17.2+ and must be re-signed with your Apple certificate and a matching provisioning profile before installation. This is an ad hoc cryptographic signature, not an Apple Ad Hoc distribution profile or a TestFlight build. Preserve the Wi-Fi Information and Hotspot Configuration entitlements needed by Meta camera transport.
• SHA256SUMS.txt contains the package checksums.

macOS requires version 15 or later. Drag BetterComms into Applications. These apps are ad hoc signed, not notarized or signed with Developer ID; use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway if macOS blocks them. Each Mac download is a single DMG, without an extra nested ZIP.

Changes

• Wails-only desktop packaging, BetterComms app icons, and an integrated macOS title area.
• Mobile drawer/dialog sizing and safe areas, inline camera video, and an iPhone host that disables whole-page zoom and overscroll.
• Operating-system credential storage for native sign-in persistence.
• Persistent call playback while navigating to Messages, plus native iPhone call-audio configuration.
• Experimental native Ray-Ban Meta camera integration and a native H.264 sending path targeting 720×1280 at 30 fps. Older clients retain the ordinary camera path; receivers request fallback when native frames stop or cannot decode, including during signaling recovery.
• Experimental ReplayKit sharing of the foreground BetterComms app on iOS.

Limits

Glasses connection repeatability, real remote 720×1280/30 fps delivery, and background/locked-phone video remain unverified. iOS sharing does not capture other apps or continue as a full-phone broadcast. macOS does not provide Windows process capture or application audio. Linux has no published native package. iOS microphone effects and voice balancing are bypassed on its direct microphone path. Packaged authentication and native media still require the platform/device acceptance gates documented in docs/WAILS_COMPLETION.md, docs/IOS_EXPERIMENT.md, and docs/NATIVE_MEDIA_BOUNDARY.md.

The hosted client is available at https://app.bettrcomms.com. TURN deployment and cross-network acceptance remain outstanding. Recordings and rewind retain the limitations in docs/RELEASE_NOTES.md.

BetterComms Wails 0.0.1 (preview)

Unsigned Wails v3 preview for Windows x64 and macOS 15+ Apple Silicon/Intel. Windows requires WebView2 Evergreen. macOS users may need to explicitly allow this unnotarized app. Packaged authentication, native media and cross-device acceptance remain open; see docs/WAILS_COMPLETION.md.

0.1.16 — hosted app moved to app.bettrcomms.com

The hosted app's primary domain moved from bettrcomms-production.up.railway.app to app.bettrcomms.com. Install this build to keep the desktop app working — the previous domain no longer accepts non-GET API calls or WebSocket connections from an older installed build.

Also introduces the first version of a selective forwarding unit (SFU) for group calls, deployed alongside the existing direct peer-to-peer path. Not yet used by default; direct peer-to-peer calling is unchanged.

Unsigned, non-notarized builds — Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper will warn on first launch.

• Windows: BetterComms_0.1.16_x64-setup.exe (NSIS) or BetterComms_0.1.16_x64_en-US.msi
• macOS Apple Silicon: BetterComms_0.1.16_aarch64.dmg
• macOS Intel: BetterComms_0.1.16_x64.dmg

Full notes: docs/RELEASE_NOTES.md

BetterComms 0.1.15

Match source now keeps 1080p captures at 1080p instead of unnecessarily upscaling them to 4K. Native resolution presets only downscale sources that exceed their limits. Install this desktop update to receive the capture fix.

Screen startup now gives the dedicated connection time to establish before starting its five-second video deadline, avoiding premature compatibility fallback during setup. The underlying zero-RTP field handshake failure remains unconfirmed; this release does not guarantee full quality across all networks.

Local validation: production frontend build, 125 frontend unit tests, 68 native tests (11 opt-in tests skipped), and 11 screen-sharing browser tests passed.

Windows installers include the pinned FFmpeg native-sharing runtime. These preview installers remain unsigned; macOS physical-device media acceptance remains pending.

GitHub validation also passed for the release commit, including the full browser/API workflow.

BetterComms 0.1.14

BetterComms 0.1.14 adds the configurable Visual Copilot preview and makes established peer-to-peer calls survive signaling-server restarts.

Visual Copilot lets opted-in viewers point on a shared stream or freeze their local view and send a marked frame after the sharer grants per-device permission. Windows can display capture-excluded, click-through indicators over the shared application; browser and non-Windows clients show them in the call.

Signaling now reconnects with bounded backoff while preserving active media and peer connections. Deliberate session, membership, room, and device-replacement closures still end the affected connection immediately.

The Windows installers include the pinned FFmpeg 8.1 native-sharing runtime. macOS builds use browser-supported capture. These initial installers are unsigned, and macOS physical-device media acceptance remains pending.

Validation passed on clean GitHub runners: production web build, 124 unit tests, Go tests and vet, the complete Playwright suite, and Windows x64 plus macOS Apple Silicon/Intel bundle builds.

BetterComms 0.1.12

Windows native sharing now preserves the selected window or display's actual aspect ratio. Resolution choices act as maximum bounds, so portrait, narrow, ultrawide, and unusually shaped sources are no longer padded into a 16:9 encoded frame with black bars.

The Windows installers include the native FFmpeg sharing runtime. macOS builds use browser capture because native Windows Graphics Capture is Windows-only.

Validation: 57 native tests passed with 11 hardware-only checks skipped, 103 web unit tests passed, and local Windows MSI/NSIS release bundles built successfully.

BetterComms 0.1.11

Windows native screen sharing now supports:

• 720p output
• 120 FPS preset
• custom 15–240 FPS
• custom 1–200 Mbps bitrate
• H.264 level validation before capture
• high-refresh native recording queue sizing

Hardware acceptance on the development Windows PC passed 720p120 at 12 Mbps and 720p240 at 20 Mbps through both NVIDIA NVENC and AMD AMF, native RTP, Chromium decode, and native-copy MP4 recording. Actual delivered frame rate depends on source refresh, encoder load, receiver decoding, and network capacity.

The Windows installer includes the pinned FFmpeg 8.1 native-sharing runtime. macOS builds continue to use browser-supported screen capture.

BetterComms 0.1.10 preview

Windows native screen sharing is ready immediately after installation. The verified FFmpeg 8.1 runtime, GPL license, setup metadata, and source/build references are bundled with the app; WinGet and the separate first-run runtime download are no longer required. The private downloader remains available as a repair fallback if packaged resources are damaged or missing.

This release also includes multiple-device call sessions, push-to-talk, adaptive camera and screen-share layouts, frozen previews for unwatched shares, native-screen routing through the established desktop call peer, smoother shared-content zoom and pan, and the fullscreen layout fixes documented in the repository release notes.

Validation: Windows MSI and NSIS packages were built with the bundled runtime present; both macOS targets built successfully. The web build, 103 unit tests, and 55 runnable Rust tests passed locally.