App Support for Linux Platforms

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Technofreak

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#290028 15-Oct-2021 22:12

No doubt some of you will tell me to wash my mouth out, but here goes anyway.

As you might notice if you bother to look at my signature I use Sailfish OS. This is a Linux OS.

Jolla, the company that makes Sailfish OS has developed Android App Support for the OS thus enabling the use of most Android apps on Sailfish.

Recently they announced App Support for Linux platforms. In case anyone has an interest in using Android apps this link might be useful.

https://jolla.com/appsupport/

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

sJBs

69 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#2796698 17-Oct-2021 12:42

Interesting read.

I see it is only currently available to subscribers for their Sony devices. https://shop.jolla.com/

It would be interesting to see if it could run CoD Mobile and other Android games.

Technofreak

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#2796730 17-Oct-2021 14:18

sJBs:

Interesting read.

I see it is only currently available to subscribers for their Sony devices. https://shop.jolla.com/

It would be interesting to see if it could run CoD Mobile and other Android games.

I'm running Sailfish OS with Android App Support on a Sony Xperia XA2. The only apps that I have a problem with are those that require Google Play Services to run and even then some of those apps still run but some functions missing. For example I run Sports Tracker, everything works except it cannot display the background map which isn't a problem for me.

I don't run any games on my phone and I don't play COD so I cannot really help you there. Perhaps when I have some spare time I'll give some a try.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

andrewnzer

25 posts

Geek

#2796733 17-Oct-2021 14:29

Last time I considered switching to sailfish I didn't due to there being no up to date web browser, the person I spoke with said due to old QT libraries the native Firefox was stuck on some ancient version. Is that resolved now?

I really want to use an alternative mobile os , I would have used windows mobile longer if they had a chromium based edge back then, a good browser can replace a lot of apps.

Azoth

2 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#2796736 17-Oct-2021 14:39

andrewnzer:

Last time I considered switching to sailfish I didn't due to there being no up to date web browser, the person I spoke with said due to old QT libraries the native Firefox was stuck on some ancient version. Is that resolved now?

I really want to use an alternative mobile os , I would have used windows mobile longer if they had a chromium based edge back then, a good browser can replace a lot of apps.

I recently just got graphene OS and have enjoyed it as a de-googled android fork with up to date browsers.

Feel the maturity of alot of the Linux phones aren't there yet but would love to be proven wrong! The sailfish support looks really promising.

Technofreak

6530 posts

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#2796780 17-Oct-2021 17:13

andrewnzer:

Last time I considered switching to sailfish I didn't due to there being no up to date web browser, the person I spoke with said due to old QT libraries the native Firefox was stuck on some ancient version. Is that resolved now?

I really want to use an alternative mobile os , I would have used windows mobile longer if they had a chromium based edge back then, a good browser can replace a lot of apps.

In my opinion the OEM browser has been substandard though there have been significant improvements to it recently.

My go to mobile browser has always been Opera and that works very well. I don't use the native browser.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

andrewnzer

25 posts

Geek

#2796853 17-Oct-2021 22:09

Technofreak:
andrewnzer:

Last time I considered switching to sailfish I didn't due to there being no up to date web browser, the person I spoke with said due to old QT libraries the native Firefox was stuck on some ancient version. Is that resolved now?

I really want to use an alternative mobile os , I would have used windows mobile longer if they had a chromium based edge back then, a good browser can replace a lot of apps.

In my opinion the OEM browser has been substandard though there have been significant improvements to it recently.

My go to mobile browser has always been Opera and that works very well. I don't use the native browser.

It seems like it's more of a novelty os if your using an Android web browser. I can see the fun in trying new things and I'm still tempted but not having a decent native web browser is huge. I just looked at the GitHub commits on the sailfish browser, the latest commit is 4 months ago. Few and far between from there.

Technofreak

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#2796861 17-Oct-2021 23:09

The last update to the browser was in the latest OS update (4.2.0.21) last month.

In my opinion the browser is the weakest of the baked in apps in the OS.

So far as Opera goes I've always used it no matter the OS going right back to the days of Palm Pilots, Symbian, Meego, through to Sailfish and Android on my Galaxy Tab S6. All of these Os's have their own native browsers. I use Opera for two main reasons. The text reflow which is super useful on mobile devices and syncing across all my devices. Native web browsers don't give me that.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

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andrewnzer

25 posts

Geek

#2796863 17-Oct-2021 23:22

Technofreak: The last update to the browser was in the latest OS update (4.2.0.21) last month.

In my opinion the browser is the weakest of the baked in apps in the OS.

So far as Opera goes I've always used it no matter the OS going right back to the days of Palm Pilots, Symbian, Meego, through to Sailfish and Android on my Galaxy Tab S6. All of these Os's have their own native browsers. I use Opera for two main reasons. The text reflow which is super useful on mobile devices and syncing across all my devices. Native web browsers don't give me that.

I dont mean the default os endorsed browser, I mean any browser that can run natively. Your spending the majority of your time in an android app running in a tacked on version of android.

andrewnzer

25 posts

Geek

#2796865 17-Oct-2021 23:35

Using Opera on symbian, desktop linux, android, windows is fine because they all have native versions.

andrewnzer

25 posts

Geek

#2796997 18-Oct-2021 11:45

That came across ruder than I intended, I want to try sailfish it looks fun and it would be exciting to follow a new os. I have a lot of respect for the sailfish developers. Just frustrating that it's not a true alternative to android at this point.

Technofreak

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#2797120 18-Oct-2021 14:42

andrewnzer:

That came across ruder than I intended, I want to try sailfish it looks fun and it would be exciting to follow a new os. I have a lot of respect for the sailfish developers. Just frustrating that it's not a true alternative to android at this point.

I agree, right now it's not a true alternative to Android. One of the issues being the availability of some native apps for Sailfish. By that I mean things like Fitbit, Canon Camera Connect, Zoom, Covid Tracer etc. If you need these apps you also need the Android support option.

Having said that, there is still a lot of Sailfish users who only use Sailfish apps and don't use Android support at all. There is plenty of excellent Sailfish apps with quite a few of bespoke Euro centric apps also available. Right at the moment Sailfish isn't officially available in this part of the world, but Jolla have just announced that the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK are areas that are to be added very shortly. That should see a growth in local use and the opportunity for more localised apps.

As I mentioned before the browser has seen a lot of improvement in the last 6 to 8 months and is now quite usable. There are some native after market browsers as well, AngelFish comes well recommended, it does need Flatpak for Sailfish installed.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5