Thank you for the input, I read about the Volla phone ages ago.
Do you have information, how the Volla Phone handles copying files to and from the device?
In my opinion, the chassis design of the Xperia 10 II is lacking. I liked the aesthetic of the Jolla1, and I also like the way apple is going again with the iPhone12, making the edges sharper (or sharply bevelled) instead of rounded. I had the feeling, even when I took an Xperia 10 II into my hands, that it is just cheaper.
Wait. This is new to me. Is there a possibility to have a voice assistant on Sailfish X?
It seems this is liek @Peeder said, I really can’t compare Sailfish on Jolla 1 with Sailfish X.
I already noticed that iOS or android seem to be my only options. However, I am not ruling them out, instead I want advice from fellow sailors and suggestions how to make a qualified decision on how to keep most features from Sailfish.
So I beg to differ on the point, that this is not the right location to ask for this. If I asked on a android-centered board, I’d get android advertised over iOS, if I asked on a apple-centered board I get iOS adviced over android. Of course, I get that this is a silfish-centered board, so I expect to be advertised for Sailfish over the other two. However, I discussed this on other boards before, and the amount of ridiculous suggestions I received is just unbearable. Can you imagine that some apple users think it is the most normal thing in the worls to have comma and fullstop hidden in a second layer of the onscreen keyboard, and even if I point it out to them, the answer is either “Oh, it does not matter to me.” or the suggest “Well then, try changing your language to not use comma so much?”
I feel, like the sailfsh community values that every user is different, and that every user should have a chance to make their device their home. I am not experienced with android, and obviously I lack experience with the recent Sailfish X release, so this is my asking of your experience with those, to make me find the device and software I need.
Thank you for reading.
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This seems the consensus between all of whom replied so far. I never considered this, still using my Jolla1 (except for the points, where it’s showing its age, as described in the initial post).
I will take that into consideration.
This sounds kind of ironic. Yes, it is long, and I am lost. But I do not take this lightly, and I ask you to not make fun of me for that.
I pre-ordered my Jolla1 after careful decision-making like this, and I never regretted my decision. Having good information leads to good decision in my opinion. If you find the post too long to read, feel free to skip it. If you read it and even reply, be sure I read it, reply and take whatever information you have to offer into consideration.
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Isn’t Volla OS AOSP with an Volla UX? So file copying should just work as in AOSP. However i don’t know if the UX with its approach of typing also supports voice commands. The principle way of offering functions instead of special brands or apps is what i like the most. Its just working, no matter whats running in the background 
I cannot tell for other devices than for Xperia 10, but there it unfortunately does not work. You can find this and other regressions in the latest release notes:
Known issues specific to Xperia 10
Edit: Improved quote
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Thank you, I was quite sure I had read that somewhere. Also, now that I read through the issues list again, the lack of predictive text is also a bummer for now.
Well, the lack of predictive text is an annoyance, but it’s coming in the next update, which, based on the fact that there’s an ongoing translation round for it, will probably be here sometime in July.
Tap to wake does not work on the Xperia XA2, Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 II, however it does technically work 95% of the time on the Xperia X if you enable it from the command line. I’ve found the fingerprint reader to be a decent alternative, but for those times where you just want to check the big clock on the lock screen (the fingerprint reader jumps straight to the lock code screen or to the last opened application), I really do miss tap to wake.
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Have two Xperia 10, working perfect including predictive text input (in german version on my phone). Predictive text input must be installed manually from the shop and is only available with the licenced version. On my phone, it needed a “reboot” after installation before it started working, but after reboot it works excellent! From my sight, after every system update time, the phone works better and bugs are repaired. Fingerprint reader works in most cases since SFOS 4. Cold or wet finger recognition is rather lame, but with dry finger at room temperature it works nearly always.
What Android phone is supported for seven years??
Personal, I would recommend to buy an Xperia 10. It’s available as Single or Dual SIM Version and not SO expensive as the new models.
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I see, I didn’t know the fingerprint reader could be an alternative to waking up the phone. Sounds to me like the missing tap-to-wake will be neglectable.
No matter how many emojis you append, I still think you’re being rude.
I do know that. I advertised that. I used sailfish to the boundary of these limiotations. And I still see all the good things sailfish does right.
Already, I suggested I may leave the sailfish ecosystem for now. This is not only my sad story, but I believe other will have encountered a similar situation. If they have, it might help me out how they made the move, and how they kept as much of sailfish as possible in their new phone. Regarding
I can only say, that this is not about ma heartbreaking story, but about finding a way to overcome said limitations in the presence.
I can not imagine how fast you can read, but neither are you forced to read my walls of text, nor are you respecting the time I put into explaining with all necessary detail, what my problem is. Apparently, I didn’t invest enough time, since you still didn’t understand it fully.
Finally something I can agree with. But silently accepting defeat and come running back to apple is not an option.
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If the outward appearance of the Xperia 10 and 10 II don’t suit your fancy, you could explore an older supported model like the XA2. I find it to be a rather elegant design, the squared off design blends to a natural metal curve, and the screen-to-body ratio is excellent, even with a chin and forehead. I honestly think it goes well with the SFOS design of the bold colors for the pulley menu, far better than the edge-to-edge approach of the X10s. And it’s still an excellent performance bump from the J1. No, it does not support aarch64 with Kvarken, but with the necessity of rewriting applications to work with aarch64, that won’t be a major loss for quite some time.
The XA2 also has a very good size overall, certainly bigger than the J1 but not as massive as the X10s, though if you wanted, the XA2 has a Plus and Ultra model that hits that 6" phablet size. If you’re used to that iPhone 4S at all, the XA2 is the only alternative besides the old XX that you can’t even buy the SFOS license for anymore.
Most XA2s only have 32GB of space though, 64GB models are only available in the Plus and Ultra. Battery life has always been solid for me, I’m on my second year, third in November, and I still regularly finish the day with 40%, and am very careful to use only 5V1A or 5V2A chargers.
Even if third-party / Android app support isn’t a big deal for you, having support for Android 10 as opposed to 4.4 will still be tremendous for performance and capabilities. I don’t find webapps to be comparable in performance for anyone who might need those services, but I know having access to a working webapp at all is better than the nothing I get with the Sailfish browser. I’ll sacrifice and have a little bit of Google Chrome with Bromite to ensure better access to some websites.
I’m a bit confused about you mentioning “swiping instead of typing” and you do go on to describe swiping, but more in the sense of the UX design Sailfish has of gesture interfaces. If you do mean this, “tapping” is the proper term. If you’re trying to describe the swiping method for the keyboard, Sailfish doesn’t have that officially, which both Android and iOS do have that, included with the OS from the moment you turn it on. For SFOS you need to download “OKBoard” which is on a third-party repository. This is still an impressive inclusion and a good option to have, though it doesn’t do it as well as its counterparts (it breaks if you try to swipe the word “is”).
To cover the last bases of that, admittedly SFOS hasn’t done amazingly well with voice assisted technology, and once again the community has come in a few times to try and implement that. Snipek was one such attempt that used a self-hostable voice module, but now Snips has closed source. At this time there’s only one app even trying, Speech Note, using Mozilla DeepMind. However, I believe Pure Maps does allow a TTS engine to dictate travel. It’s more rudimentary compared to modern GPS apps, but if Android support is in the cards, Magic Earth is free, no ads, uses OSS (though isn’t OSS in and of itself).
Fingerprint reader is on the XA2, and is good. Tapping it once lights up the screen but sadly opens at the PIN code and not the clock, a second tap automatically unlocks it. It’s fairly responsive though. Amazingly it’s about the same size as the camera, but it’s positioned just right so you’re never smudging the camera. It isn’t an incredible camera, but it’s reliable for the occasional document scan or schedule snap.
It’s possible I’m overlooking a lot of things but I am admittedly handling a lot of Sailfish’s shortcomings with Android. But my use case is just different, and maybe I’m a bit of a masochist for just dealing with it.
I personally got bored with Android, I dived over to Blackberry 10 a long time ago and it was a blast for all of 2 years. Eventually I had to come back to Android and it wasn’t until I got the opportunity about where I live to purchase and use a Sony phone as a reliable daily driver. Sailfish OS was in beta for XA2 right as I got the phone. So even as an Android user and certainly using a lot more services than some people, I’ve been able to use SFOS instead of Android for a lot of things. I think a staunch, long-term user like yourself simply needs to upgrade your hardware, and expand your horizons.
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Thank you for the respectful and comprehensive reply, adressing lots of my concerns.
Overall, it seems like you’re advertising the same route as @deloptes, @Peeder ans most before, albeit with a concern for my dislike of the Xperia 10 II. Just like you, I found the size and built of the XA2 a more elegant design, that is more in line with the Jolla aesthetic. However, I possibly wrongly had the impression, that it would be too antiquated to be of good use as well.
Since I could live until today with only a part of my 16GB available for files on the phone, I will not have a problem with 32GB, and you correctly assumed that the larger phablet style is not right for me.
That as well goes along what people before you have advertised, and slowly I see that it will not be a comparable experience to the Jolla1.
I am not a native English speaker, obviously, and I wanted to mean “tapping”. I know how the swiping keyboards work, and although this is a nice feature on iPhones, I do not need it. Instead, with tapping vs. swiping, I meant the design philosophy behind the Sailfish UX. Thank you nonetheless for your suggestions for OKBoard, I will try that out.
Thank you as well for describing your experience with the fingerprint reader on the XA2. For me the interaction with the device is important, and the experience of using it is hardly ever described. With your explanation, I can picture how it feels to use it, and I can imagine myself being content using it this way.
Also, I will try out some of the voice assisted technology you mention for SFOS, but I’m not confident, that this will be a great experience. I understand implementing this in SFOS would be a (maybe over-)eager goal for Jolla, and perhaps even contradicting to their privacy objectives.
Well, thank you for putting it nicely. I get the message, and delivering it like this makes me consider it even more.
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Okay, maybe you gort me on the wrong foot here, so I apologize for wasting everyone’s time. Even if I leave: I will be checking back and following the progress of Sailfish, as ultimately, I think SFOS is the mobile OS alternative we need.
In which which app store is Speech Note available?
When I was unsure where to go, I bought on ebay kleinanzeigen an almost new second-hand Xperia XA2 for less than 100 €, the Sailfish license for 50 € (iirc) and … I was delighted!!!
Not with all details of course (the worst, the edges are bit sharp) but in principle it works absolutely fantastic (a phone for 150!).
My compromise is, that I immediately use the up-to-date Android emulator if necessary (as I mentioned in a Brave post using the F-Droid and Aurora store). Android apps work well and are fast. UI wise it’s a bit a regression but my main usage (map, browser) are full screen and it doesn’t matter. Above all: this spares the terrible 
compromise to use the restricted 
AppStore or be tracked 
by Google ad nauseam.
I’d say: try it! – a) the native browser works quite/very well now. Albeit I use almost always the Android based Brave (Firefox would be another option) browser atm, b) battery no complaints, c) fingerprint reader works well (but make sure you “store the fingers” with slightly different angles, d) double tap doesn’t work (afaik) but the button press didn’t bother me (ha! and in this thread I now learned about fingerprint wake-up… it really works 
incredible!), e) don’t know about text to speach. I recommend to start separate threads with the things you really need (I asked about maps and got super helpful answers!).
I’m completely lost in this difficult decision, so I appreciate all the help I can get.
With 150 (and some time) the decision might not be so difficult. In the worst case you loose 150 (but you could sell the device again, thus maybe you loose 90).
I don’t want to convice you. But as I wrote above, I was and am delighted, wouldn’t hesitate to spend the money for a new Xperia 10 II device now. This said, I really like the smaller size of the XA2 (and if possible I’d go “more smaller”).
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Wrong. I have left Sailfish for /e/OS, but still coming back to check for reasons to come back as I loved the idea and gestures of Sailfish OS. I guess there is few of us, patiently waiting for a signal of new wind in Jolla Oy (or somebody buying it)…
Coming straight from a good old N900, I enjoy Sailfish on my XA2 very much.
That being said, I’m quite aware of its limitations. Some (to me, at least) essential apps won’t work under the android runtime (e.g. banking apps or the corona warn app). My solution to this challenge is to have an additional Android device for those cases where I don’t have an adequate replacement on Sailfish OS (but then again, I’m not that much of an app guy). I find the UI of Android awkward to use and I absolutely despise the fact how many apps “phone home” even when they are not in use. So Android doesn’t get to see the internet if it can be avoided and certainly not from my home
Maybe the idea of carrying two devices (part-time, at least) is not for everyone but using an XA2 as my daily driver and a cheap Android for those “special” use-cases gives me the piece of mind.
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Many fair points - and no easy and clear answer. I use Android, iOS and SFOS in parallel, for various reasons (e.g. company rules). My daily driver is still an XZ3 (with Android support that i borrowed from another, non-used (never installed) paid license) because it comes closest to my needs, which includes file management and a fair control over all services and running apps, full off-line operation wrt contacts, calendar, maps navigation etc. The only reason to use the Android phone is/was Corona Warn App. The iPhone drives me crazy but in theory would give me access to my company emails and calendar (however, syncing takes minutes whenever I switch the iPhone X on - this is so slow that I typically use it every two month, so it is pretty worthless) but since my iPhone lost all data (and the virtual keyboard) when I tried to transfer a photo to my windows laptop I quit using the iPhone at all.
I am missing a lot from SFOS, i.e. native office support (calligra?) for being productive or a revival of the rpn calculator (plus more native apps in general) - but at the moment SFOS fills the bill better than Android or iOS.
I suppose there is no “perfect” mobile OS
EDIT: originally I considered the XZ3 too large but now I got used to it. The smaller XZ2 compact would suit you better. However, a used XZ2 compact is more expensive than the XZ3. Since Jolla started aarch64 support with the Xperia 10 ii this might be the future
try to get hands-on on phones of friends, watch some youtube videos, there are literally tons of them on youtube.
that might give you more of an idea what you get.
i hope you understand that i don’t wanna spent 10 mins on elaborating …