Back in December of 2024, we released the first version of our Vonage Video Reference Application for React. The goal of this project is not only to show how to work with our Video API using a framework like React but also to give developers an easy-to-use demo and base for their own video applications. Based on the feedback and usage, we like to think it has been well received by our community.

Vonage is proud to announce the first major update to our Vonage Video Reference Application for React! With the release of version 1.1, we have combined a multitude of small bug fixes and enhancements that have been provided by the community.

New Features

Two main features have been added with the release of version 1.1. These are increased webview support for mobile browsers and the ability to pin video streams to the main view.

Video Pinning

One heavily requested feature was the ability to pin streams to the main view. If you mouse over a video block, you will get a new icon that will allow you to pin any stream to the main viewing area of the screen. If you are doing a desktop share, pinned participants will be moved to the top of the sidebar, making it easier to keep visibility of specific people during a meeting.

Pinning in the Video Reference Application

Mobile Enhancements

Vonage's Video API has full support for most major mobile browsers such as Chrome and Mobile Safari, so the fixes for the Reference Application revolved more around providing a better mobile user interface for smaller screens.

Bug Fixes

Version 1.1 also includes over 100 changes and bug fixes. Most of these fixes revolved around cleaning up some visual UI issues across various platforms, small internal fixes, and providing better support for the release on our Cloud Runtime platform. We still fully support running the application on your own setups, so all of these fixes will make for a more stable application.

Give it a Shot

If you have not tried out our reference application yet, we recently wrote up a guide for getting the Reference Application running on either Cloud Runtime or your own hosting. In either case, you will need to sign up for a free Vonage Developer Account.

Vonage API Account

To complete this tutorial, you will need a Vonage API account. If you don’t have one already, you can sign up today and start building with free credit. Once you have an account, you can find your API Key and API Secret at the top of the Vonage API Dashboard.

Ready to start building?

Experience seamless connectivity, real-time messaging, and crystal-clear voice and video calls—all at your fingertips.

Using Cloud Runtime is the quickest way to see the new features. It will automatically set up all of the bits needed to run any Video API application and handle the hosting for your application while you check it out.

Conclusion

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