Clarify public browser versus desktop truth

docs/ops/HYPERTWIST_PUBLIC_WEBSITE_CONTENT_AND_OPERATOR_MANUAL_PACKET_2026-06-22.md

@@ -316,6 +316,26 @@ Latest public-manual clarity follow-up later on `2026-06-24`:
 
 That follow-up stayed green under:
 
+- `npm --prefix website test -- --run src/__tests__/public-marketing-pages.test.tsx`
+  - `1` test file passed
+  - `12` tests passed
+
+Latest browser-versus-desktop reality follow-up later on `2026-06-24`:
+
+- the homepage, About, Docs, and Download routes now also share a reusable
+  direct comparison section answering the more pointed operator question:
+  why keep both a website and a desktop runtime at all
+- that section now states plainly:
+  - what the website is for
+  - what the desktop runtime is for
+  - why the browser is intentionally narrower
+  - what current input/XR/settings truth is actually shipped
+- the public FAQ wording also tightened so the browser lane is described as
+  deliberately narrower for simulator work, not as a weaker accidental copy of
+  the native runtime
+
+That follow-up stayed green under:
+
 - `npm --prefix website test -- --run src/__tests__/public-marketing-pages.test.tsx`
   - `1` test file passed
   - `12` tests passed

website/src/__tests__/public-marketing-pages.test.tsx

@@ -243,6 +243,8 @@ describe('public marketing pages', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText('Operator checkout URL: missing')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Current packaged desktop proof')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('How the release lane works')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('Why HyperTwist keeps both a website and a desktop runtime')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('Why the browser is intentionally narrower')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Choose the right HyperTwist surface')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('First launch and desktop setup')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Digital delivery workflow')).toBeTruthy()
@@ -407,6 +409,9 @@ describe('public marketing pages', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText('Current public site status')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(await screen.findByText('Public website and release posture')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getAllByText('Preview posture').length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+    expect(screen.getByText('Why HyperTwist keeps both a website and a desktop runtime')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('What the website is for')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('Current input, XR, and settings truth')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getAllByText('Paddle webhook secret: missing').length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
     expect(screen.getAllByText(/public auth runtime posture/i).length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
     expect(screen.getByText('Current packaged desktop proof')).toBeTruthy()
@@ -521,6 +526,8 @@ describe('public marketing pages', () => {
     renderWithProviders(<AboutPage />, ['/about'])
 
     expect(screen.getByText('How a real HyperTwist session unfolds')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('Why HyperTwist keeps both a website and a desktop runtime')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('What the desktop runtime is for')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Choose the right HyperTwist surface')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Stay on the public website')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Current desktop control and XR truth')).toBeTruthy()
@@ -1104,6 +1111,8 @@ describe('public marketing pages', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText('Recovery and degraded-state manual')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Support topic quick routes')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getAllByText('Current surface authority map').length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+    expect(screen.getByText('Why HyperTwist keeps both a website and a desktop runtime')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText('Why the browser is intentionally narrower')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('When to use browser versus desktop')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Choose the right HyperTwist surface')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getAllByText('Protected browser dashboard').length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
@@ -1123,6 +1132,7 @@ describe('public marketing pages', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText('Current packaged desktop proof')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Common operator questions')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('If the desktop app is primary, why keep the web version?')).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(screen.getByText(/intentionally narrower than the simulator for training and device\/runtime work/i)).toBeTruthy()
     expect(screen.getByText('Packaged validation passed')).toBeTruthy()
     expect(await screen.findByRole('link', { name: /open public docs portal/i })).toBeTruthy()
   })

website/src/pages/public-page-helpers.tsx

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import {
   publicDocsUrl,
   releaseNotesUrl,
 } from '../site-config'
-import { deliverySurfaceCards } from '../site-data'
+import { browserDesktopRealityCards, deliverySurfaceCards } from '../site-data'
 import {
   buildLoginPath,
   buildProtectedDownloadPath,
@@ -189,6 +189,38 @@ export function DeliverySurfaceResponsibilitiesGrid({ limit }: { limit?: number
   )
 }
 
+export function BrowserDesktopRealitySection({
+  title = 'Why HyperTwist keeps both a website and a desktop runtime',
+  description = 'The browser shell is intentionally narrower than the simulator. That is what keeps access, release, billing, notices, and native execution from collapsing into one confused surface.',
+}: {
+  title?: string
+  description?: string
+}) {
+  return (
+    <Section title={title} description={description}>
+      <div className="card-grid">
+        {browserDesktopRealityCards.map((card) => (
+          <article key={card.title} className="card">
+            <p className="status-pill status-pill--info">{card.posture}</p>
+            <h3>{card.title}</h3>
+            <p>{card.description}</p>
+            <ul className="list top-gap">
+              {card.bullets.map((bullet) => (
+                <li key={bullet}>{bullet}</li>
+              ))}
+            </ul>
+            <div className="button-row top-gap">
+              <Link className="button button--ghost" to={card.action.to}>
+                {card.action.label}
+              </Link>
+            </div>
+          </article>
+        ))}
+      </div>
+    </Section>
+  )
+}
+
 const surfaceChoiceGuideCards = [
   {
     title: 'Stay on the public website',

website/src/pages/public-pages-commerce.tsx

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import {
   termsBoundaryCards,
 } from '../site-data'
 import {
+  BrowserDesktopRealitySection,
   buildPublicReleaseManifestFallback,
   DeliverySurfaceResponsibilitiesGrid,
   explorerFallbackPlan,
@@ -316,6 +317,8 @@ export function DownloadPage() {
           </div>
         </Section>
 
+        <BrowserDesktopRealitySection />
+
         <SurfaceChoiceGuideSection description="Download posture is clearer when the current best surface is explicit: public for target and release context, protected for entitlement, and desktop for the real training runtime." />
 
         <Section

website/src/pages/public-pages-marketing.tsx

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import {
   supportFaqs,
 } from '../site-data'
 import {
+  BrowserDesktopRealitySection,
   DeliverySurfaceResponsibilitiesGrid,
   PublicPackagedDesktopProofSection,
   Section,
@@ -317,6 +318,8 @@ export function HomeLanding() {
           <PublicLaunchStatus title="Public website and release posture" />
         </Section>
 
+        <BrowserDesktopRealitySection />
+
         <Section
           title="What ships now"
           description="The public site only describes current product truth or explicitly marked retained/spec-only branches."
@@ -453,6 +456,8 @@ export function AboutPage() {
           </div>
         </Section>
 
+        <BrowserDesktopRealitySection />
+
         <Section
           title="Why the web surface remains necessary"
           description="Keeping the website does not weaken the desktop-first thesis. It keeps public distribution, release, and operator-governance work outside the simulator proper."
@@ -851,6 +856,8 @@ export function DocsPage() {
           <ProductSurfaceMatrix rows={productSurfaceMatrixRows} />
         </Section>
 
+        <BrowserDesktopRealitySection />
+
         <Section
           title="When to use browser versus desktop"
           description="The public manual is more useful when it says plainly which jobs stay on the web and which ones stay inside the native runtime."

website/src/site-data.ts

@@ -65,6 +65,65 @@ export const deliverySurfaceCards = [
   },
 ] as const
 
+export const browserDesktopRealityCards = [
+  {
+    title: 'What the website is for',
+    posture: 'Public and protected browser authority',
+    description: 'Keep the web lane because product access, release posture, billing, notices, and operator onboarding should stay inspectable outside the simulator.',
+    bullets: [
+      'The website owns public docs, pricing, release notes, notices, and support-safe rollout guidance.',
+      'The protected dashboard owns account state, entitlement, protected downloads, and browser-to-desktop pairing.',
+      'This keeps release and commercial posture visible without turning the simulator into a checkout or auth shell.',
+    ],
+    action: {
+      to: '/docs',
+      label: 'Open public manual',
+    },
+  },
+  {
+    title: 'What the desktop runtime is for',
+    posture: 'Native simulator authority',
+    description: 'Keep the real simulator native because the desktop runtime is where package proof, training quality, device/runtime integration, and higher-dimensional execution are actually owned.',
+    bullets: [
+      'The desktop lane owns recognition, replay, coaching, analytics, and packaged training behavior.',
+      'It owns the current dedicated-family Magic120Cell and MagicCube5D runtime lanes.',
+      'It is the only current surface that can honestly claim simulator execution authority.',
+    ],
+    action: {
+      to: '/download',
+      label: 'Open download center',
+    },
+  },
+  {
+    title: 'Why the browser is intentionally narrower',
+    posture: 'Deliberate product boundary',
+    description: 'The browser lane is useful precisely because it does not pretend to replace the simulator.',
+    bullets: [
+      'It does not claim package-validated training behavior, higher-dimensional execution, or device/runtime integration authority.',
+      'It keeps identity, billing, release, and legal-distribution work outside the native runtime where operators can review it more safely.',
+      'It preserves a clean browser-to-desktop pairing boundary instead of collapsing access, rollout, and simulator execution into one brittle shell.',
+    ],
+    action: {
+      to: '/app',
+      label: 'Open operator dashboard',
+    },
+  },
+  {
+    title: 'Current input, XR, and settings truth',
+    posture: 'Shipped today versus still gated',
+    description: 'HyperTwist already ships meaningful desktop control/settings ownership, but it does not market unfinished XR/controller widening as complete.',
+    bullets: [
+      'Classic keyboard, mouse/touch classic-cube control, viewer camera settings, immersive presets, and dedicated-family selector/view ownership are real today.',
+      'The public and protected manual already expose that shipped control roster instead of hiding it behind vague “customizable later” language.',
+      'OpenXR/controller runtime widening and polished rebinding/preferences remain explicitly unfinished behind the current desktop-hosted No-Go boundary.',
+    ],
+    action: {
+      to: '/features',
+      label: 'Open feature atlas',
+    },
+  },
+] as const
+
 export type ProductSurfaceMatrixRow = {
   title: string
   posture: string
@@ -762,6 +821,11 @@ export const resourceCollections = [
 ] as const
 
 export const changelogEntries = [
+  {
+    date: 'June 24, 2026',
+    title: 'The public manual now answers why HyperTwist keeps both a website and a desktop runtime',
+    details: 'Homepage, About, Docs, and Download now share a direct browser-versus-desktop reality section explaining what the website is for, what stays native, why the browser is intentionally narrower, and how the current keyboard/mouse versus unfinished XR/controller truth should be read.',
+  },
   {
     date: 'June 24, 2026',
     title: 'The remaining feature, docs, resource, changelog, and legal pages now carry the same surface handoff guidance',
@@ -906,11 +970,11 @@ export const sourceAvailability = {
 export const supportFaqs = [
   {
     question: 'Is the simulator fully in the browser?',
-    answer: 'No. The current shipping lane is desktop-first and Unreal-backed. The public website offers account, operator, support, and download access, while the optional full-browser simulator path remains spec-only.',
+    answer: 'No. The current shipping lane is desktop-first and Unreal-backed. The public website offers account, operator, support, and download access, while the optional full-browser simulator path remains spec-only, so the browser does not currently replace the package-validated native runtime.',
   },
   {
     question: 'If the desktop app is primary, why keep the web version?',
-    answer: 'Because the browser shell owns the parts that should stay outside the simulator: public positioning, account access, billing, release posture, download gating, notices, and browser-to-desktop pairing. Keeping that work on the web makes the native runtime easier to trust and easier to operate.',
+    answer: 'Because the browser shell owns the parts that should stay outside the simulator: public positioning, account access, billing, release posture, download gating, notices, and browser-to-desktop pairing. It is intentionally narrower than the simulator for training and device/runtime work, and that narrower boundary makes the native runtime easier to trust and easier to operate.',
   },
   {
     question: 'Is VR/controller support already fully finished?',