This will always happen, the FLOSS community is famous for the endless circular firing squad.
I meet with resistance each time I mention SfOS: it’s not fully open source. For many loud people that will always be more important than any argument* I can counter with. Invariably they answer “I’d rather wait for PostmarketOS to get better” or “But GraphinOS!”
All in all, I’m glad that the Made in EU argument is taking off.
* “I trust this EU company” or “It’s a fully working Linux OS” or “show me the daily-driver capable alternative that is not Android”
How do PostMarket OS, Lineage and Sailfish compare? I’ve confirmed my J2 so I’m not looking for an off-ramp.
I’m not really aware of the other Linux OSs so I’m curious to know how they compare and contrast. What do their respective users like about those OSs over Sailfish?
Not so good answer, from someone who is still learning things himself… Lineage is another android fork, so basically just an android. PostmarketOS (=PMOS) tries to achieve full open source smartphones, which to my understanding includes hardware drivers so that they wouldn’t need compatibility layer between hardware designed for android and their OS. This is why PMOS supports only very old hardware. And as it isn’t made by company, the robustness is question mark and polishment doesn’t look so good (personal opinion). Bonus is that PMOS for example support flatpaks, while SFOS currently doesn’t.
SailfishOS (=SFOS) has accepted the fact for now that there isn’t any other hardware available currently in the market than ones designed for android, with proprietary drivers for android. This is why SFOS uses compatibility layer between, which makes it possible to SFOS utilise those proprietary drivers between OS and hardware. As Sailfish has been around a long time now, it is quite polished and robust. Battery life is good etc.
My understanding is that if person want to have FOSS android, the choose quite often Lineage. If person wants fully FOSS linux smarphone and is heavy tinkerer they might choose PMOS over Sailfish. And Sailfish users seems to be ones who love the UI and the fact that it is European and/or they want to have full control of their digital life and live semi private smartphone life with OS that is actually daily drivable. PMOS requires a lot of tinkering (what I have read online), a little bit similar to Ubuntu touch. Huge advantage for Sailfish is the Android App Support (AAS), which makes it possible for many to choose SFOS. SFOS is superior compared to waydroid as it is neatly integrated to the system (so I have heard)
Great answer! Thanks for taking the time to explain all that! Ashamed I hadn’t realised that Lineage was Android. I hear mention of it in the LateNightLinux podcast from time to time and I just assumed it was a Linux OS.
The LateNightLinux guys seem to have little interest in Sailfish and I am curious as to why. I would have naturally thought that they would be keen promoters of a Linux OS. But I can also understand that they each have their own personal mental-model of what a daily driver is to them and I’m guessing Android is better suited to each of them.
I’ll just note that there are a couple of phones running desktop-like Linux: Pinephones and the Librem 5. The quality of the Librem 5 hardware is much higher (and so is the price!).
Pinephone only sells hardware, but Purism (maker of the Librem 5) has put huge efforts into convergence (apps that automatically adapt to screen size). Despite this, most Linux apps don’t run well, or at all, on Linux phones. This is mostly due to display size and touch input. The number of functioning native apps is thus much lower than the number of native Linux apps. This is gradually improving for new apps based on libadwaita for Gnome and (I suppose) kirigami for KDE.
IMHO, the UI is still inferior to SFOS, with clumsy interaction and wasted screen real-estate (especially in landscape mode). Even convergent apps sometimes pop up settings dialogs etc partially off-screen.
Using Android apps: Jolla’s Android App Support is better integrated into the system than Waydroid is on Linux. I have no conclusive opinion about which of them runs Android apps the best, or has the best support for Bluetooth, NFC, etc.
PureOS on the Librem 5 is the best option if you want a phone that is as-free-as-currently-possible. With SFOS you accept more closed-source parts, but get a superior user experience and nicer hardware.
Are the LateNightLinux guys based in the U.S.? If so, they might not be interested because Jolla is not offering their new Jolla 2026 phone to users in the U.S. (for now).
No, they’re UK and Ireland. It’s a great podcast - I’ve been listening for years. But I’ve yet to work out why they might not be interested in Sailfish. I’m just curious!
Anyone who has ever given it a listen would be convinced they’re not Google fans (hoping I understood what you, there). They absolutely slam Google 100% of the time!
What I’m saying is that you don’t need to be a fan to get paid. I know influencers that earn big buck, despite their contempt for the brand. Just saying…
I don’t know that podcast but isn’t the most likely reason that they don’t like the closed parts of SFOS, no matter how small? I mean that would be a postion one can find among FOSS advocates.
A little late of a reply, but still relevant I think.
What if these people would see another person with a SFOS shirt? Then something that doesn’t interest them becomes something they recognize. The rare nerdy types may get intereated at that point.
When SFOS would get to the point “I think there is a third choice, but I’m not sure and I never looked at it.”, in the nerdy conversations, some people will look into it, and you will attract a small flow of new sailors, even without a big news cycle like around the J2.
This example of “if this, then this, then this” goes a bit fast and there is a lot of premature conclusions, but the point is:
Merch will lead to important brand recognition.
This is true. Additionally some people, such as myself, like to financially support (F)OSS-developers by buying something tangible and “official” merch. For example, I supported /e/os and received some stickers, bought a hoodie from openSUSE and at the moment I have bought the SFOS license for Xperia and have voluntary monthly “subscription”. Would love to buy some Sailfish merch and support the development of it at the same time.
I get it that Jolla is busy right now but no merch is really a missed opportunity. There is a community and if there are just a few things like maybe t-shirts and such this is even a small source of revenue if nothing else and on top of that merch is also creating some presence in the real world for the brand as well.
