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Any Jolla/Sailfish users out there that could shed some light on their impressions so far? I'm reluctant to switch to Android or iOS but I will need to switch o

Any Jolla/Sailfish users out there that could shed some light on their impressions so far? I'm reluctant to switch to Android or iOS but I will need to switch out my phone real soon.

shmerl 10y ago
I'm using it for everyday purposes on Nexus 5. UI usability is excellent. My only problem - the browser development is stalled and it's using outdated Gecko fork.
gulpahum 10y ago
It has a bit unusual user interface. They designed it to be usable by one hand, but I think they just ended up with a bit messy UI. It takes some time to get used to and some features are not easy to discover (like the top sliding menu or the context menu on list items). It runs its own native Sailfish apps (there's few hundred of them) and Android apps (you can install Google Play, if you follow a bit cumbersome instructions). However, the UI logic in native apps is different than in Android apps. Native apps use a lot of wiping gestures, while Android apps use more tapping and the back button. There is also a native web browser (built on top of Gecko) and it has its own UI logic (the usual web browser logic with a back button, no gestures). So, all together, it has three way to navigate, which makes the whole experience a bit fragmented. But, if you want to escape the surveillance riddled Android and iPhone, Jolla is a good basic phone. It offers a lot for hackers, because its built on top of Linux and you have access to almost everything without rooting. I got my phone three years ago and I'm still getting OS updates regularly, which is also nice. I just wish the UI was better.
- mullsork 10y ago
  Thanks for the writeup. I wouldn't mind having a very hackable phone I suppose. Does one need Linux to enjoy it at its fullest, or is OSX also okay?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - gulpahum 10y ago
    They have an SDK built on top of Qt Creator and it runs on OS X, Windows and Linux [1]. Linux may offer some advantages, such as access to the phone file system. OSX has a bit cumbersome ways to access it [2]. If you want to write programs for it, you can use Qt C++, QML or Python. It also has a terminal with the usual bash commands. And, of course, you can always write Android apps with tools given by Google and run those apps on Jolla. As a niche hardware feature, the original Jolla phone has a hackable i2c bus under its back cover. Some people have tried to build keyboards, e-ink screens etc. connected to it. The specs for the bus are public [3]. I'm not sure if the new Jolla C is really meant for casual users, because you need to participate in their community device program to get one. EDIT: removed some speculations about the community program EDIT2: looks like the original Jolla phone isn't sold anymore [1] https://sailfishos.org/wiki/Application_SDK_Installation https://sailfishos.org/wiki/Application_SDK_Installation [2] https://jolla.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201440867-How-do-I-transfer-files-between-a-Mac-and-my-Jolla- https://jolla.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201440867-How-do... [3] http://jolla.com/the-other-half-developer-kit/ http://jolla.com/the-other-half-developer-kit/
  - pekk 10y ago
    The phone itself runs Linux. You can ssh into it if you want. I can't think onf any reason why you would need to use Linux for anything, but if you did then I guess you could run it in a VM.
- distances 10y ago
  I think this is a very fair point. The user interface tries to innovate, but personally I think it's a miss. I wish they kept the N9 style UI that was pretty widely applauded. The cumbersome interface and missing native application features were the main points why I switched back to Android.
  - pekk 10y ago
    The user interface is my favorite thing about it. I find Android painful to use. This is probably because I hadn't used Android until after I had already used Sailfish. I don't see any advantage in copying N9.
    - distances 10y ago
      It is certainly different, so I can see it dividing opinions. Good that you like it!
- fractallyte 10y ago
  There's a tutorial included with the phone, that takes the user through all the important concepts. I personally find the UI very neat, consistent, and innovative. It's almost a step backward to use Apple or Android devices now.
aerique 10y ago
I really liked my Jolla phone except for the crappy camera. If it had had a better camera I would still be using it. The interface was nice, the open system was nice (it was easy to code desktop notifications: just connect to dbus on the phone and call the notifier on my desktop machine) and the Android subsystem worked well enough.
mpol 10y ago
For me every platform would be a compromise. What I could not stand on Android is the constant display of ads, just everywhere, in every app. Since one and a half year I have a Jolla now. Some things are quirky, but some things are really great. Pro: - No ads. Really, no ads, not anywhere. - I can just install my own host file with ad networks routed to 0.0.0.0 for the browser. - Android apps are available. I don't need much apps and Whatsapp and sometimes Skype are enough. - Updates are available every month and every update has good features. Now with the meltdown a few months ago things have slowed down. We will see how it comes back up. There has been one update in the last months. - The interface is consistent. I have an all-black ambience, and every app just follows that ambience and is just black. I like it that way, life is too distracting already. - Just a checkbox to enable root access. No futzing with rooting or jailbreaking my own device (really bad mentality, if that is considered a good way to sell me something). - SSH by default to copy files to and from the device. - Backup is in Git and you can copy it to your desktop. Haven't needed a restore. We will see how it goes :). - Most of the times I get an uptime of about a month. Not sure what Android and iPhone users get normally. - I like the screens and the tiles with apps. I enjoyed that on my N9 as well, there it was even better. With Sailfish 2.0 they improved it a bit, and put some ideas back from the N9. - People claim the camera is bad. For me it is good enough. Even better when recently a friend failed to take good photo's with an iPhone 5, and the Jolla made them fine (really, not made up). We were taking pictures in the direction of the sun. Con: - It isn't that fast, and with Android apps open like Whatsapp and Skype, 1GB is too little and you can notice it while browsing. I don't run into the OOM-killer often though (if ever). - The default browser (Gecko based) isn't fast either. For JavaScript heavy sites I use Webcat (Chromium based). - For a while I had my calendar working with my Owncloud calendar, but it broke somewhere. Haven't taken the time to see if that works again. There are logs, but I just haven't taken the time. - Whatsapp notifications come in slow. Sometimes WA loses connection, allthough the network is up. Turning Wifi off and on brings it back online. - For a while I enjoyed native apps for Whatsapp, like Mitakuulu and Whatsup, but I suspect Whatsapp is actively blocking them or changing connection settings for them. I now settled on the main Android app, which is worse in every way, compared to Whatsup. /edit And Oh boy, this HN editor is bad...
- 01Michael10 10y ago

Any Jolla/Sailfish users out there that could shed some light on their impressions so far? I'm reluctant to switch to Android or iOS but I will need to switch out my phone real soon.

shmerl 10y ago

I'm using it for everyday purposes on Nexus 5. UI usability is excellent. My only problem - the browser development is stalled and it's using outdated Gecko fork.

gulpahum 10y ago

It has a bit unusual user interface. They designed it to be usable by one hand, but I think they just ended up with a bit messy UI. It takes some time to get used to and some features are not easy to discover (like the top sliding menu or the context menu on list items). It runs its own native Sailfish apps (there's few hundred of them) and Android apps (you can install Google Play, if you follow a bit cumbersome instructions). However, the UI logic in native apps is different than in Android apps. Native apps use a lot of wiping gestures, while Android apps use more tapping and the back button. There is also a native web browser (built on top of Gecko) and it has its own UI logic (the usual web browser logic with a back button, no gestures). So, all together, it has three way to navigate, which makes the whole experience a bit fragmented. But, if you want to escape the surveillance riddled Android and iPhone, Jolla is a good basic phone. It offers a lot for hackers, because its built on top of Linux and you have access to almost everything without rooting. I got my phone three years ago and I'm still getting OS updates regularly, which is also nice. I just wish the UI was better.

mullsork 10y ago
Thanks for the writeup. I wouldn't mind having a very hackable phone I suppose. Does one need Linux to enjoy it at its fullest, or is OSX also okay?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- gulpahum 10y ago
  They have an SDK built on top of Qt Creator and it runs on OS X, Windows and Linux [1]. Linux may offer some advantages, such as access to the phone file system. OSX has a bit cumbersome ways to access it [2]. If you want to write programs for it, you can use Qt C++, QML or Python. It also has a terminal with the usual bash commands. And, of course, you can always write Android apps with tools given by Google and run those apps on Jolla. As a niche hardware feature, the original Jolla phone has a hackable i2c bus under its back cover. Some people have tried to build keyboards, e-ink screens etc. connected to it. The specs for the bus are public [3]. I'm not sure if the new Jolla C is really meant for casual users, because you need to participate in their community device program to get one. EDIT: removed some speculations about the community program EDIT2: looks like the original Jolla phone isn't sold anymore [1] https://sailfishos.org/wiki/Application_SDK_Installation https://sailfishos.org/wiki/Application_SDK_Installation [2] https://jolla.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201440867-How-do-I-transfer-files-between-a-Mac-and-my-Jolla- https://jolla.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201440867-How-do... [3] http://jolla.com/the-other-half-developer-kit/ http://jolla.com/the-other-half-developer-kit/
- pekk 10y ago
  The phone itself runs Linux. You can ssh into it if you want. I can't think onf any reason why you would need to use Linux for anything, but if you did then I guess you could run it in a VM.
distances 10y ago
I think this is a very fair point. The user interface tries to innovate, but personally I think it's a miss. I wish they kept the N9 style UI that was pretty widely applauded. The cumbersome interface and missing native application features were the main points why I switched back to Android.
- pekk 10y ago
  The user interface is my favorite thing about it. I find Android painful to use. This is probably because I hadn't used Android until after I had already used Sailfish. I don't see any advantage in copying N9.
  - distances 10y ago
    It is certainly different, so I can see it dividing opinions. Good that you like it!
fractallyte 10y ago
There's a tutorial included with the phone, that takes the user through all the important concepts. I personally find the UI very neat, consistent, and innovative. It's almost a step backward to use Apple or Android devices now.

aerique 10y ago

I really liked my Jolla phone except for the crappy camera. If it had had a better camera I would still be using it. The interface was nice, the open system was nice (it was easy to code desktop notifications: just connect to dbus on the phone and call the notifier on my desktop machine) and the Android subsystem worked well enough.

mpol 10y ago

For me every platform would be a compromise. What I could not stand on Android is the constant display of ads, just everywhere, in every app. Since one and a half year I have a Jolla now. Some things are quirky, but some things are really great. Pro: - No ads. Really, no ads, not anywhere. - I can just install my own host file with ad networks routed to 0.0.0.0 for the browser. - Android apps are available. I don't need much apps and Whatsapp and sometimes Skype are enough. - Updates are available every month and every update has good features. Now with the meltdown a few months ago things have slowed down. We will see how it comes back up. There has been one update in the last months. - The interface is consistent. I have an all-black ambience, and every app just follows that ambience and is just black. I like it that way, life is too distracting already. - Just a checkbox to enable root access. No futzing with rooting or jailbreaking my own device (really bad mentality, if that is considered a good way to sell me something). - SSH by default to copy files to and from the device. - Backup is in Git and you can copy it to your desktop. Haven't needed a restore. We will see how it goes :). - Most of the times I get an uptime of about a month. Not sure what Android and iPhone users get normally. - I like the screens and the tiles with apps. I enjoyed that on my N9 as well, there it was even better. With Sailfish 2.0 they improved it a bit, and put some ideas back from the N9. - People claim the camera is bad. For me it is good enough. Even better when recently a friend failed to take good photo's with an iPhone 5, and the Jolla made them fine (really, not made up). We were taking pictures in the direction of the sun. Con: - It isn't that fast, and with Android apps open like Whatsapp and Skype, 1GB is too little and you can notice it while browsing. I don't run into the OOM-killer often though (if ever). - The default browser (Gecko based) isn't fast either. For JavaScript heavy sites I use Webcat (Chromium based). - For a while I had my calendar working with my Owncloud calendar, but it broke somewhere. Haven't taken the time to see if that works again. There are logs, but I just haven't taken the time. - Whatsapp notifications come in slow. Sometimes WA loses connection, allthough the network is up. Turning Wifi off and on brings it back online. - For a while I enjoyed native apps for Whatsapp, like Mitakuulu and Whatsup, but I suspect Whatsapp is actively blocking them or changing connection settings for them. I now settled on the main Android app, which is worse in every way, compared to Whatsup. /edit And Oh boy, this HN editor is bad...

01Michael10 10y ago