not_IOgoogle is a prison and the enemy of FOSS, we really need an alternative
Grail
A_norny_mousseDaily-driving SFOS for 6 years. AMA.
wandererDo you use mostly Android apps?
I heard that the native browser is still some ancient Firefox fork. There is surprisingly little information about native apps anywhere, it strongly feels like they are mostly focusing on Android app compatibility. SailfishOS also has more closed source than I’d like to. Most often it does not end well.
I preordered the new Jolla phone, but after looking around the app side of things for a while, I cancelled. I’m not switching from Android to “sort of Android” -phone. If (or rather when, as I think it will happen) Google kills F-Droid and other ways to get apps, I will take another look on what’s available. Ubuntu Touch maybe, but I understand their browser is also quite old, and that’s one thing that should be up to date, at least, in my opinion. Or maybe just a dumb phone, and a separate camera. For maps, maybe a “prices-begin-from” Wahoo for finding routes. Sure, this approach will cost more, take more space, but I’m not going to go into the walled garden of Google or Apple.
About Jolla and SailfishOS, I am no expert. I ended up cancelling knowing that if I change my mind I will have to pay a lot of extra. Anyway, for the moment I am happy with my decision.
Do you use mostly Android apps?
No.
ls -1 /usr/share/applications/
Pacpac.desktop
csd.desktop
fingerterm.desktop
google-maps-geo-handler.desktop
harbour-2048.desktop
harbour-allradio2.desktop
harbour-android-offline.desktop
harbour-barcode.desktop
harbour-colortubes.desktop
harbour-crest.desktop
harbour-fbreader.desktop
harbour-file-browser.desktop
harbour-fivinarow.desktop
harbour-heebo.desktop
harbour-ieligimage.desktop
harbour-ieligweb.desktop
harbour-lonewolf.desktop
harbour-meecast.desktop
harbour-molecules.desktop
harbour-org.gpodder.sailfish.desktop
harbour-osmscout.desktop
harbour-ownkeepass.desktop
harbour-paketti.desktop
harbour-patience-deck.desktop
harbour-pipes.desktop
harbour-pure-maps-uri-handler.desktop
harbour-pure-maps.desktop
harbour-qml2048.desktop
harbour-sailpipe.desktop
harbour-sailtrix.desktop
harbour-sailtube-open-url.desktop
harbour-sailtube.desktop
harbour-sailtuner.desktop
harbour-seabass.desktop
harbour-sfos-forum-viewer.desktop
harbour-simplemahjong.desktop
harbour-sshazam.desktop
harbour-storeman.desktop
harbour-stppc.desktop
harbour-talefish.desktop
harbour-taot.desktop
harbour-wireshark.desktop
harbour-wordle.desktop
hosts-block-add-to-blacklist.desktop
hosts-block-add-to-whitelist.desktop
jolla-calculator.desktop
jolla-calendar.desktop
jolla-camera-lockscreen.desktop
jolla-camera-viewfinder.desktop
jolla-camera.desktop
jolla-clock.desktop
jolla-contacts.desktop
jolla-email.desktop
jolla-gallery.desktop
jolla-mediaplayer.desktop
jolla-messages.desktop
jolla-notes.desktop
jolla-settings.desktop
l2tp-import.desktop
mimeinfo.cache
new-mail.desktop
openconnect-import.desktop
openrepos-books.desktop
openstreetmap-geo-handler.desktop
org.kde.angelfish.desktop
ovpn-import.desktop
pptp-import.desktop
qCommand.desktop
qt-runner.desktop
quaeditor.desktop
retroarch.desktop
sailfish-archive.desktop
sailfish-audiorecorder.desktop
sailfish-browser.desktop
sailfish-captiveportal.desktop
sailfish-installationhandler.desktop
sailfish-office.desktop
sailfish-share.desktop
sailfish-tutorial.desktop
sailfishos-chum-gui.desktop
simkit.desktop
store-client.desktop
systemdatascope.desktop
uk.co.piggz.harbour-supersonik.desktop
voicecall-ui.desktop
vpnc-import.desktop
webcal-import.desktop
wheelmap-geo-handler.desktop
wireshark.desktop
None of those is Android (but not all are actual “apps").
I heard that the native browser is still some ancient Firefox fork.
I wouldn’t say ancient; it’s based on FF ESR98 or so’s embedlite. But yeah, this is a topic of much discontent. Natively, it’s relatively easy to install Angelfish (KDE) based on a much more timely webkit. Via Android appsupport many current browsers are available.
There is surprisingly little information about native apps anywhere, it strongly feels like they are mostly focusing on Android app compatibility.
It’s one of their main selling points, but native apps are definitely abundant. There’s the offical store, which does not have a browsable web frontend, and 2 unofficial stores: https://openrepos.net/ and https://sailfishos-chum.github.io/.
SailfishOS also has more closed source than I’d like to. Most often it does not end well.
I understand, but it has been going well since 2013. IMO the closed source thing is historical: they are the heirs of Nokia’s Linux-based OSs. But slowly they are opensourcing parts of the OS.
Ultimately, this is a European company I can trust. The devs are active on the forum, too.
BTW, it is still and always will be possible to download & install SFOS on your own device, for €0.