Jolla SailfishOS “Experience” Coming To Android

From March those of you with Android handsets – and there’s quite a lot of you out there, according to recent stats – will be able to download and install the SailfishOS “experience” on your smartphone. What you’re downloading isn’t the OS per se – it’s more like a launcher. But once installed users will get the full SailfishOS experience including support for platform-native apps, its gesture-based UX and regular updates.SailfishOS is an open-source platform that began life in Finland. The first handsets running SailfishOS are now commercially available inside Europe, although we’ve yet to see any of them in action in the UK. 

“The world’s first Jolla phones were sold to mobile operator DNA’s customers in Finland in late November last year. After the limited availability sales start of Jolla smartphones with Sailfish OS beta, Jolla has released three significant software updates. The fourth update will be released at the beginning of March, after which the software will be commercially ready for global distribution,” said Jolla in a statement to the press. SailfishOS supports Android applications, as well as content developed specially for the platform. Jolla has yet to confirm just how many Android applications its platform supports, but insists the “availability and interoperability of Android apps in Sailfish OS has increased greatly” – apparently it’s hundreds of thousands. 

“We’re very excited to announce this. We’ve been working hard together with our user community to make the user experience of the Jolla smartphone and Sailfish OS effortless and distinct. We believe that Jolla now offers a truly viable option for all smartphone users. Naturally we are not stopping here, as we continue to provide monthly software updates to Jolla devices and Sailfish OS,” says Marc Dillon, Co-Founder and COO of Jolla.