I’ve been using Jolla Phone 2026 for a week and yesterday I noticed there are some missing pieces in the overall system that made it hard to imagine this would ever be a candidate for a primary device, because “no app can fix it”. So, sort of fundamentals that only Jolla people can bring.
I’ll gather them here.
I know SFOS was a very niche product. I believe we all dream of going more mainstream, so this is why I want to raise those topics, because I think there’s some work to do and it’s needed.
Auto-fill API
This is already in few places on that forum, this is a OS fundamental that just must be there to consider it serious. People have different password managers, use TOTP, use passkeys, or whatever, I expect I can use (or write) an app, that can act as a credentials source for all websites.
iOS has it, Android has it.
Here we’re in a position where Android apps work better together than SFOS native ones (because they don’t work together at all).
Accessibility
It looks like SFOS has no accessibility features at all, except of changing colors.
I cannot search for apps by typing, there is no screen reader (is it even compliant to EU Accessibility Act?), I cannot adjust gestures so they fit better to my habits and so on.
Accessibility is not only screen reader and contrast. It’s also providing many ways of doing the same.
Multitasking
Since there is no auto-fill API I found myself changing apps more than I would, and boy, is this annoying.
On iOS when I toggle between some app that fails to use auto-fill, I open Strongbox, auth (biometrics), search for a credential, copy, swipe right from the bottom edge, I’m back in the app where I can paste.
On SFOS:
Go to home view, figure out which of that app is my password manager (another a11y missing option: I’d like to opt-out from app covers, I want to see just names, or have bigger tiles/card, current view doesn’t work for my brain), which takes up to a minute when there are 20 apps open, go there, put a master password, search, copy, go to home view, figure out where is that app I just used, open it, paste.
Also, ther’e’s just this way.
On iOS I can:
- swipe right on bottom edge (directly to previous app)
- swipe up on bottom edge (overview with almost full screen apps stack)
- swipe down → type app name
- “hey siri, toggle to Strongbox”
- some apps open other apps directly via deeplinks
On SFOS:
- home screen, look until you find
- app drawer, also look until you find (no search)
Critical notifications (with custom sound)
This is maybe an edge case, and also touches accessibility because accessibility is all about giving ways of solving edge cases.
I’m a volunteer firefighter in Germany and we use an app as an extra way of alarming (next to a pager). Pager is bulky and we often forget them, phone we have always with us.
On Android and iOS the app has setting to be “always loud”, no matter of OS mode.
So, even if I have all silenced, as long as I can receive push, I will hear loud sound when alarm is off, also it’s a custom sound so I know it’s not a cell broadcast from the state, it’s from my firefighting hq.
I thought if this is possible on SFOS, doesn’t look like, looking at the dev docs. Correct me if I’m wrong here though.
Also, this is not the only app that I use, that needs “critical push”.
I’m playing way too much with those settings.