Sailfish for BFU?

General
#1

Hi!
Im new in here, but Im following Sailfish OS community for some time.
I do have one complex question:

It is Sailfish OS ready for BFU?

Starting point:
I do own SONY Xperia 10 II (XQ-AU52, latest update) and Ive bought it last year just because of Sailfish OS. Currently Im running it on Android, but I do want to migrate. But it is pricy phone and my only one, so there is no space for mistakes (just dont want to spent 400+ bucks for nothing). If the Sailfish wont work, i will just probably migrate to Apple and stay up there (even this is against my “belief”- still safer than google).

Im not programmer. I do have Linux, I can somehow (thru tutorials) use Terminal commands, but I really dont want to solving bugs in OS. I`m just simple BFU, which wants high privacy and security.

What are my requirements?
I do run some apps, which are for me must, or nice have. Without confirmation, that those apps will fully work, I simply can`t migrate.

  • Proton Mail (.apk)

  • Proton Calendar (.apk)

  • (Proton drive - probably soon . apk)

  • Proton VPN - this looks like trouble., I don`t need .apk for VPN, but i want to use Proton.

  • Firefox browser or browser addons (NoScript, uBlock, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, HTTPS Everywhere, Decentaleyes)

  • Email client which can handle multiple email accounts (Gmail, and some simple smtp) - FairMail like

  • Standard Notes (.apk)

  • Some social media .apks (Facebook Lite, Instagram…)

  • Signal (.apk)

  • F-Droid applications

  • Few Playstore applications (mainly maps, wheather, etc.)

  • Spotify- compatible with BT headphones (some users have issues with that?)

  • Garmin connect - no need for watch notifications, but I do need synchronisation after running activity (tracking of progress…). - This also looks like trouble

  • Dual sim support

  • Wifi Hotspot

  • Waze .apk

  • I can live with one lens support for camera, but full 3 lens support is nice to have.

  • Access to Playstore would be nice (i can use apk mirror, but sometimes it is pain in the…)

  • Bitwarden .apk would be nice

  • Android Car is nice to have, but not expecting that (EDIT: or at least BT connection with Radio in Car)

I did lot of research before asking those questions, but biggest issue is, that most of the topics are about Sailfish 3 and some topics about Xperia 10 II (OS4) are still open.

It looks like dummy question, but there is growing group of people which want to run away from Google and Apple. And Sailfish looks like solution.

Thanks for answers!

1 Like
#2

Garmin Connect will not work. The Android Runtime has no Bluetooth connections forwarded.
Same applies probably for connection to car radio via Android car.

You can access play store using the F-Droid app Aurora, that works fine.

#3

I dont know garmin connect.
Maybe this could help, i am using it for biking. Works.

OpenTracks (on f-droid)
OpenTracks – ein GPS-Tracker, der deine Daten für sich behält.

#4

That is a whole long list of Android apps :slight_smile:
I don’t mean to force you in anything, but if you want to use Sailfish as a base for Android apps, you might make the wrong decision.

Also, asking for high privacy, and then asking about Google Waze and Google Play Store is not a consistent point I would say.

Wifi Hotspot works on my XA2, I haven’t heard it not working on 10 II.

Signal.apk should work, but there is also the native app Whisperfish.

I would assume there are native apps for Spotify as well. Bluetooth audio works on Sailfish, I assume the audio from an Android app goes through pulseaudio and thus bluetooth as well.

For Notes, there are many native apps. Do you really need that one special Android app?

7 Likes
#5

Forget about the googliest stuff (could be that Waze counts here - i don’t use it) and low-level hardware/connectivity APIs on the Android side. Everything else pretty much “just works”. For smartwatches you re limited to what Amazfish and Rockpool supports afaik.

Most BT headphones/headsets work just fine, that includes sound from Android apps, but a few are borked. More often it is the mic not working properly.

As long as you are prepared to change your habits just slightly, Sailfish is no problem to daily-drive. But if a single Android app not working well would be a deal-breaker, maybe it is not for you.

2 Likes
#6

Gents, thanks for answers.
I have no issues with changing my habits, but on the other hand - I don`t want to end up on some kind of Sailfish-only island (I still need compatibility with my Linux thru cloud services, or windows in emergency").

Proton apps are for me must have - I`ve migrated to Proton for very same reasons, why i want to migrate to Sailfish.
Everything else is optional more or less.

I do know, that some apps very google-ish, but that’s the way it is.
I dont need very same apps, I do need same abilities. So Navigation with traffic info, cloud-based music player etc. Even Im ready to change some habits (actually Ive did it multiple times - migrated form Windows to Linux, etc.), but I dont wanna end up with functions from early 201x.
Mobile phone is for me very often only device around.

I understand, that it would be nice to have all the apps made for Sailfish, AFAIK, there is no solution for that, right now. So I do need to “misuse” lot of .apks…

few quick answers - for example Satndard notes - I`ve choose this app only for sync with my PC - so I can live with something else, if it syncs with my Linux.

Garmin Connect is for me, right now (ironically ) biggest issue. I`m running all my trainings thru this app.
Is there any chance, that Jolla will change Android runntime?

#7

SFOS has VPN “onboard”. Importing the .ovpn file works,
WIFI Hotspot works,
Dual SIM works,

More apps as in the Jolla store are at openrepos.net . Maybe you want to have a look there.

1 Like
#8

If you are not attached to the data on your phone (i.e. because you have good backups), you can flash Sailfish OS on it and return back to Android at a later point relatively easily. There are some risks there, but if your want to go to iOS later, maybe that isn’t even an issue. That will give you a much better understanding of what the OS can do and you can try your specific use cases. This is not risk free, but it should be doable.

#9

Maybe i am lazy to read, sorry. Is there really a full-back? I mean, open Bootloader, DRM etc.

When I read the list of the OP, I would think LineageOs is much better task, than SFOS.

1 Like
#10

hi there

i have protonmail.apk, firefox.apk and Signal.apk running on my XperiaX. As Playstore alternative i use Aurora Store. If i use VPN i set up some Proton server via openvpn import.

#11

At least the bootloader you can lock again and I don’t think the DRM issues of the X series still applies. But I haven’t actually tried it. Still, one could switch to LineageOs or something similar after that too.

1 Like
#12

Thanks again for replies.
It looks, that only real problem right now is Garmin connect.

Is there any chance, that it will be implemented some kind of Bluetooth sandbox-mode in future?
Or this is simply nogo for security reasons?

#13

It was asked on the last community meeting on IRC about Bluetooth for Android apps:

" Unfortunately we don’t have additional details to share. We are looking into the this, but don’t have any schedule to announce on this. (sledges, 07:15:37)"

The log has more discussion. ddobrev asked 3 follow-up questions, they might be part of the next IRC meeting.
I wouldn’t expect anything on short notice, though long-term something might happen.

#14

@urabus you could also drop an email to Garmin and ask if there is any support for Sailfish, and / or if they have documentation on how someone could make it’s own app to get the data from the watch. Most probably they will answer you negatevly but worth doing it even just so they hear sailfish OS exists and users from there want support.

#15

In FDroid you can find Aurora Store, the alternative for Google Playstore, more privacy safe than the official Google store.
Instead of Waze you could use MagicEarth, an Android app that has no trackers. A reliable satnav, works well without a sim!
All mail services that follow the smtp/imap protocol can be used in Sailfish general mail. sometimes an app is the solution, like with Tutanota.