Release notes
## 🎉 Release 1.6.0
**What's new in this release?**
- 🚀 **Update Checker Returns!**
- Plugin now checks for new versions from the official website and notifies you directly in the filter UI if an update is available.
- Update status is localized (English/Japanese) and provides clear messages for "up to date," "update available," or "error checking."
- 💨 **Selfie Segmenter Performance Boost**
- Major internal rewrite and optimization of the selfie segmentation engine:
- Now includes architecture-specific SIMD acceleration (AVX2 for x86_64, NEON for ARM64) for much faster mask processing.
- Refactored code for better maintainability and portability.
- New, dedicated unit tests for the segmenter ensure accuracy and reliability across platforms.
- 🧩 **Project Structure Modernization**
- Codebase has been reorganized for easier long-term maintenance:
- All core logic moved under `src/Core/`.
- Utility code now under `src/BridgeUtils/`.
- The selfie segmenter is now in its own directory (`src/SelfieSegmenter/`).
- Redundant and legacy files have been removed.
- 🛠️ **CMake & Build Improvements**
- CMake now detects and links `curl` and `backward-cpp` as needed.
- New vcpkg triplets enable AVX2 optimizations on all major platforms, for the best possible performance out of the box.
- Test infrastructure improved: new, robust unit tests for both the segmenter and update checker.
- 🌍 **Localization & UI Enhancements**
- Update checker info messages are now fully localized.
- Error messages and update status are clearer in the plugin UI.
- 📚 **Documentation & Developer Guide Updates**
- Release and development guidelines have been clarified and expanded.
- Copilot and Gemini release automation instructions improved.
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Thank you for using Background Removal Lite!
If you notice any issues with the new update checker or experience improved speed on your platform, please let us know. Your feedback is always welcome!
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### Checksums
backgroundremoval-lite-1.6.0-macos-universal.pkg: 034468a91b10c6036091ae761f98d79c0d378af2ffb04cb012148395910e2991
backgroundremoval-lite-1.6.0-source.tar.xz: aa04dc91ebe9b0197bb5fde95ee254cf0cc5669a3ddf727928eef0982d395811
backgroundremoval-lite-1.6.0-windows-x64.zip: 552576c2255b7ef2239cd5f7ae0848bb1a88d78f506eda7a193e3f087470a2cd
backgroundremoval-lite-1.6.0-x86_64-linux-gnu-dbgsym.ddeb: d1706480a4c73574fc9b742d2088f3ba6155cc38056f9589f998ef53bc65851a
backgroundremoval-lite-1.6.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.deb: 057b44a3b0d5864669873c8622b64aa8159a3451ed4ba69f4606c3583a8e62b3