I ordered a refurbished phone compatible with Sailfish OS a couple days ago to give it a try, hoping to have it up and running by the end of the week. I'm happy to post a review here once I've given it a try, if anyone's interested. Planning to keep it entirely free of Google/Meta apps, so I am expecting there to be some compromises compared to my current Android phone.
SciencyScientist
joined 2 years ago
They severed all ties with Russia several years ago, I think the company is now entirely Finnish.
Since you were interested in hearing my experience with Sailfish OS, I've come back here to share my experience.
First off, installation was fairly straightforward. It required copy pasting some code into the command line, and that was about as advanced as it got. I got my phone up and running in about 20 minutes.
I found getting started with Sailfish VERY different than starting with a new Android or iPhone. The gestures and layout I think are quite nice, but definitely very different from what we are you used to on most modern smartphones. Apps cannot be kept on the home screen as far I've been able to figure out. Instead, they stay in the app drawer, and active apps are displayed kind of like open windows on a desktop. It is also very basic in comparison when you first start using it. Other than some basic productivity apps, there is nothing installed. To me it very much felt like using a smartphone from an earlier and simpler time, and I quite enjoyed that part. I had some trouble figuring out how to be able to install apps, but eventually was able to install apps from both the Jolla Store as well as Android apps.
In terms of using it as a daily driver, I think it could work. I've so far been able to install some of the apps I use on Android either through F-Droid or by downloading the APK files. I do have to point out, I was already heavily relying on more privacy friendly apps like Proton Mail, Bitwarden and NewPipe. You might have a harder time using more commercial apps and might have to resort to using the browser instead.
There's also a bunch of Sailfish OS clients available that you can download as a .rpm file. I've found these easy enough to install as well, once I had a file manager installed.
So all in all, if you're willing to do a bit more tinkering to get your device setup, and are willing to put up with a phone that might miss a few more modern features like a wallet, I think it could work. It is definitely more of a niche product, and it won't be for everyone, but I don't dislike it. I have not made up my mind yet whether I will go with Sailfish OS in the end, and am gonna try installing /e/ os on another old phone I have lying around before making up my mind. But I am definitely glad I gave it a try and I'm hoping more people will be willing to give it a chance.