Zoho Cliq
Cliq 7.0 stops being a destination app and becomes a layer across Zoho
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Element iOS and Salesmsg — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Renamed Element Classic, this client now ships one small fix every few months
Element iOS was renamed Element Classic in v1.11.32, and the release log since then reads like a maintenance branch: single-PR releases spaced weeks to months apart, mostly dependency bumps, build-tooling changes and one user-visible change at a time. The one substantive thread is device verification — a permanent disclaimer banner for unverified sessions arrived in 1.11.35, was temporarily disabled in 1.11.37 because users had no way to reset from the verification screen, got the Reset flow wired up in 1.11.38, and was reinstated as mandatory in 1.11.39.
Salesmsg keeps widening past outbound texting into the whole customer-feedback loop.
Salesmsg has two threads running. The AI agent work has consolidated — the Unified Agent gives every texting agent one build-and-test surface, agents book and reschedule HubSpot meetings over SMS, and Salesforce Flows can enrol contacts into agents and dialer queues directly. The second thread is newer: Reviews in late July and NPS surveys now put feedback capture inside the same conversation thread, with score-based follow-ups and live analytics. Monthly digests fill in the operational layer — per-automation credit tracking, concurrent call handling, self-serve 10DLC upgrades.
Element iOS was renamed Element Classic in v1.11.32, and the release log since then reads like a maintenance branch: single-PR releases spaced weeks to months apart, mostly dependency bumps, build-tooling changes and one user-visible change at a time. The one substantive thread is device verification — a permanent disclaimer banner for unverified sessions arrived in 1.11.35, was temporarily disabled in 1.11.37 because users had no way to reset from the verification screen, got the Reset flow wired up in 1.11.38, and was reinstated as mandatory in 1.11.39.
The rename is the clearest signal of direction: this is the legacy client, kept working rather than extended. Recent releases raise the minimum supported OS to satisfy a Jitsi dependency, keep the Xcode toolchain current, and adjust CI — the work of a codebase being maintained, not developed. The verification arc is the exception, and even that is about closing an encryption-hygiene gap rather than adding capability.
With mandatory verification now reinstated and its reset path in place, the remaining work in this branch looks like dependency and toolchain upkeep plus security patches. The entries give no indication of new feature work, so the cadence should stay sparse and single-item.
Salesmsg has two threads running. The AI agent work has consolidated — the Unified Agent gives every texting agent one build-and-test surface, agents book and reschedule HubSpot meetings over SMS, and Salesforce Flows can enrol contacts into agents and dialer queues directly. The second thread is newer: Reviews in late July and NPS surveys now put feedback capture inside the same conversation thread, with score-based follow-ups and live analytics. Monthly digests fill in the operational layer — per-automation credit tracking, concurrent call handling, self-serve 10DLC upgrades.
The platform is expanding along the conversation rather than along the sales funnel. Having won the channel, Salesmsg is adding everything a service business would otherwise buy separately — reputation management, satisfaction measurement, IVR and call routing — on the argument that the SMS thread is where those things actually convert. The credit-tracking and system-health work suggests customers are now running enough automated volume to need cost attribution.
Expect the survey and review data to start feeding the AI agents rather than sitting in their own dashboards — a detractor score is an obvious trigger for an automated follow-up conversation. Further CRM-side parity between the HubSpot and Salesforce integrations is the other consistent pattern in these entries.
Other Comms products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Element iOS or Salesmsg.
Cliq 7.0 stops being a destination app and becomes a layer across Zoho
Netcore's feed remains a demand-generation channel; ten entries, zero product releases.
Element Web is opening an extension surface while rebuilding its timeline underneath.
Signal's beta train keeps trickling small comfort settings between maintenance drops
respond.io is widening what a conversation can hold - more channels, and now more than one owner.
Chatwoot is making Captain something a support team can scope, schedule and hand back.
See all Element iOS alternatives → · See all Salesmsg alternatives →
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Salesmsg is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Salesmsg is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Comms products to evaluate alongside.
Top Element iOS alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Element iOS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/element-ios for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
Top Salesmsg alternatives in Comms are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Salesmsg alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/salesmsg for the full list with editorial commentary on each.