Stephan Lichtenauer | נח סתו<p>How does using the <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Jolla" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Jolla</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/JollaC2" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>JollaC2</span></a> (<span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://techhub.social/@jolla" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>jolla</span></a></span>) with <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/SailfishOS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SailfishOS</span></a> for about a week as a daily driver now (with my old <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/iPhone" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>iPhone</span></a> at home as a backup)?</p><p>In general, it works much better than I had hoped after my experiences with other alternative <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/smartphone" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>smartphone</span></a> systems and it indeed is the first (and so far only) system that indeed works quite well. Also at around 285€ (<a href="https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-community-phone" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">commerce.jolla.com/products/jo</span><span class="invisible">lla-community-phone</span></a>) it isn't too expensive, so one can simply try it out.</p><p>There are a few limitations though:</p><p>* I am really missing biometric unlocking<br>* There is no predictive text input, so typing could be more comfy<br>* The UX experience sometimes feels strange (but no no-gos for me)<br>* It is not a snappy and fast device<br>* Audio quality is so-so<br>* GPS really needs a GPS signal, so no WIFI-based location</p><p>What is great:</p><p>* It is a real <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Linux" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Linux</span></a>, so it has a <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/terminal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>terminal</span></a>, <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/sshd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sshd</span></a>, you can e.g. use the <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Nix" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Nix</span></a> package manager etc.<br>* Android apps are running in a container<br>* You can have different users to limit data access</p><p>Unfortunately there are nearly no high-quality native apps so far and the built-in ones are very basic (e.g. email).</p><p>But: The <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Android" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Android</span></a> compatibility layer is very good, the system comes with <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Fdroid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fdroid</span></a> and <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/AuroraStore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AuroraStore</span></a> (<a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Google" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Google</span></a> store front-end) pre-installed, so you can easily install practically all official Android apps.</p><p>Most apps work very well, some (especially banking) apps do not though as they complain that the system is rooted, so YMMV regarding the apps you need.</p><p>In general I am really happy with this system. </p><p>And: All the de-ggoglefied Android phones like the <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Volla" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Volla</span></a> will always still remain just that: A more limited Android. SailfishOS offers a path towards powerful native (<a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Qt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Qt</span></a>/#QML/#Cplusplus/#Python/you name it) based apps.</p><p>I am hoping that Jolla will provide a significantly more powerful device option and that some of the problems above will be solved.</p><p>But already now, even with the limitations above, if you are somewhat technically inclined (but without the need to fiddle with a command line unlike with the open mobile Linux distributions), want to get rid of <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Google" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Google</span></a> or <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Apple" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Apple</span></a> for whatever reason, want a <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Linux" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Linux</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/smartphone" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>smartphone</span></a>, support a <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/European" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>European</span></a> company from <a href="https://mastodon.africa/tags/Finland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Finland</span></a>, this phone is really usable.</p>