Halcyon vs SipPulse Softphone

Halcyon is a free, pre-1.0 Android softphone built on PJSIP and integrated with Android Telecom. It registers with a PBX over UDP, TCP, or TLS, advertises RFC 8599 push parameters, and supports several SIP identities with an account selected for each call. When server-side push is configured, the registrar sends a data-only FCM message before an incoming INVITE to wake the device. Without push, Halcyon uses a foreground SIP service with permanent TLS registration and the associated battery cost. Its Android ConnectionService handles tel: and sip: calls, including from the lock screen, while Telecom-native routing supports Bluetooth headsets and Android Auto. Listed audio codecs are Opus, G.722, AMR-WB, and G.729; video codecs include VP8, VP9, and arm64 MediaCodec H.264. Media uses SRTP encryption, with ZRTP on the roadmap. Android 8.0 or newer is required; signed APKs are available from GitHub Releases.

SipPulse Softphone is a professional softphone for telecom operators, virtual PBX providers, contact centers, ISPs and SCMs. It supports voice, video and messaging across Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows. The browser version uses WebRTC and runs without installation. Voice calls can use Opus, G.722 or G.711 for HD audio; video supports H.264 and VP8, and instant messages use SIP MESSAGE. The technical specifications list TLS for signaling, SRTP for media and encrypted credentials. Accounts can be provisioned automatically over HTTP or HTTPS using XML configuration, including codec settings. Android ConnectionService links the app with system calls, and Janus Gateway is integrated with SipPulse SoftSwitch for WebRTC. The App SipPulse plan is free for iOS, Android, Windows and Linux, with unlimited users and installations. Mobile users need valid SIP credentials. White-label publication under a client's brand is offered, while the Chrome extension is marked as coming soon.