this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2025
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Finnish company Jolla started out 14 years ago where Nokia left off with MeeGo and developed Sailfish OS as a new Linux smartphone platform. Jolla released their first smartphone in 2013 after crowdfunding but ultimately the Sailfish OS focus the past number of years now has been offering their software stack for use on other smartphone devices. But now it seems they are trying again with a new crowd-funded smartphone.

Sailfish OS has supported a number of Sony Xperia smartphones and a variety of OnePlus / Samsung / Google / Xiaomi devices and more maintained by the community. Last year Jolla also announced an "AI computer" as part of the AI hardware craze. Now though they are apparently trying again at their own in-house smartphone.

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[–] Babalugats@feddit.uk 90 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I hope they succeed, it's a very tough market.

They probably need a lot of ducks to line up in a row. But the current privacy wave and the push for digital sovereignty in Europe might help.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Kinda. But also kinda not. The cost of getting a phone made has decreased and there are many, many manufacturers who can make one for you these days. From that perspective, if you have small niche where people are alright with paying a bit of a premium, it may in fact be easier to make a phone for them than say in 2012.

The total device cost will be 499 EUR or 599~699 EUR as the "normal" price with the voucher deducting from the phone's cost if/when available.

This price for a low volume device would have been completely unachievable in 2012.

[–] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Small specialized outfits in Shenzhen can slap together a model in a few weeks tops. (And that video is nine years old.)

The software ecosystem, or rather lack thereof, is the far bigger hurdle.

[–] arendjr@programming.dev 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

True, but aren’t there decent Android emulation layers for Linux available nowadays? Not sure how well-integrated into SailfishOS that is, but giving it a shot…

[–] SlurpingPus@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

I mean, it's probably much easier to just make an Android phone that will work with Android apps natively without discrepancies in the UI, workflows, permissions, and such. Unless Google has some trademark provisions or stuff like that. From what I can tell, Amazon and the like do it just fine. Of course, getting developers into yet another app store would be about just as difficult as with Sailfish.

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[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 43 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Get me a linux smart phone with a headphone jack and I will buy it in a heartbeat, but I don't think very many other people will.

[–] MystValkyrie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 1 week ago (4 children)

It's so bizarre that all the user-repairable phone startups are refusing to put in a headphone jack. Like, the entire point is to limit e-waste, so why are they expecting me to throw out my wired headphones to buy Bluetooth ones or get an adapter that will stop working in a year?

[–] domi@lemmy.secnd.me 11 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What makes you think a USB-C to headphone jack adapter stops working after a year? There's the same circuit in there that does the DAC like in a phone headphone jack.

Maybe I've just had bad experiences. After my Blackberry finally gave out, my next phone didn't have a headphone jack, and I couldn't find an adapter that was reliable.

[–] vaionko@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

My problem is they like to disappear after a year

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I despise any earbuds/cans that you can't replace the battery in and prefer a wired set of headphones. so much e-waste every year or multiple times a year when they get lost. I've never lost a corded headset lol.

[–] saplyng@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

The liberux nexx, recently announced they're still trying to get the phone out and it has a headphone jack!

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[–] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 14 points 1 week ago

And I could care less about a headphone jack (I'm an Android user and I'd say Apple's USB-C DAC is better than 99% of cheap built-in phone DACs - change my mind) but since we're making requests I'll take a phone that's <5.5" please!

[–] Auth@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

headphone jack is dead. Its pointless to add it to new devices.

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Funny take given the resurgence of standalone mp3 players and handheld gaming machines, all with 3.5mm jacks.

Those were all supposed to be dead too.

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[–] Arghblarg@lemmy.ca 41 points 1 week ago

I hope they succeed. Given Alphabet/Google's recent moves to try and lock Android's app ecosystem down and them just generally becoming more Evil every day, GrapheneOS and LineageOS etc. may be living on borrowed time.

I watched a video reviewing some phones smuggled out of North Korea a few days ago and it's truly scary what the endgame of locked mobile phones looks like and given the trends worldwide towards authoritarianism, we're frogs being boiled slowly toward the same situation.

[–] BlessedDog@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago

I was at a bar in Tampere (a city here in Finland) last week and met a guy with a phone running Sailfish OS. I've been interested in them for quite a few years so I asked him to let me see it and he did. Even though it was a 6+ year old phone it was running smooth as butter, the initial UX was awesome.

I really hope this becomes a reality and that the phone isn't just another cheap chinese touchscreen device. I am making the switch when the time comes.

[–] shininghero@pawb.social 14 points 1 week ago

Hmm... Gimme a headphone jack option and I'll try getting in on that crowdfunding, if they let me do it from the US.

[–] Lojcs@piefed.social 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

That design looks AMAZING.

Is there anything I need to know about the political affiliations of Jolla / past products / sailfish os before I pre-order this thing?

Edit: nvm, no global shipping

[–] vga@sopuli.xyz 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Is there anything I need to know about the political affiliations of Jolla / past products / sailfish os before I pre-order this thing?

They worked with and in Russia for a while before the big Ukraine invasion but left immediately after that. If I remember right.

They're based in Finland, mostly, and some of the founders are ex-Nokia mobile phone people.

If they have any sort of politics, they have been classy enough to keep a sock on it.

[–] Tonava@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 week ago

Yeah, they don't seem to have done anything outrageous, I haven't heard anything and quick search didn't bring up any results. Working in Russia isn't alarming for a finnish company, unless they'd have continued. The most worrying thing is that AI stuff in my opinion, but they're kinda just following the expected trend for any company right now, so that isn't very alarming either (as long as they keep it away from the phone stuff). All in all just a pretty basic finnish company.

[–] LostWanderer@fedia.io 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yikes, the AI computer thing gives me the ick; however, it seems that they are being a bit less nonsense with a smartphone. Though, given the market trends, it will be a tough space to break into because there are so many established brands. However, if Jolla can put their whole ass into this and make it privacy focused and consumer friendly Linux smartphone...They might stand a chance. Also, I hope they also make a larger screened device, I am tired of the smaller 6.3 inch screens. I'd love for them to make a 6.7 inch screen phone (also make it international version with a lot of carrier compatibility for maximum adoption potential).

I've looked at their Sailfish OS and honestly wished it were chosen by corporations more often...As the overall design seems quite nice, while being approachable. You are allowed to be as hands off or as hands on as you'd like to be with getting into the guts of this OS.

[–] MystValkyrie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I hope they also make a larger screened device, I am tired of the smaller 6.3 inch screens. I’d love for them to make a 6.7 inch screen phone (also make it international version with a lot of carrier compatibility for maximum adoption potential).

That's really interesting. I'm kind of over here hoping for a good Linux phone that's like 4 inches, like the iPod Touch used to be. I hope we get more large and small phones though, as long as they're not stock Android.

[–] LostWanderer@fedia.io 6 points 1 week ago

While I would never use a phone any smaller than 6.3 inches, I understand that others have differing needs than myself. Having a variety of devices to suit the needs of potential customers is a sound strategy. In the future, I want to see different OS choices that aren't just either stock Android; different ROMs of Android as an option to choose from would be nice!

[–] vga@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

So does this mean that a 5" is possible, or that they are going to make it? The 6" model is way too big for me.

Is the 99 € refundable? Yes. Fully.

Well ok, I think I'll put my money in and we'll see if they manage to make that reasonably sized model.

[–] GamingChairModel@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Kinda off topic, but now I'm wondering whether Europeans think of phone size (and laptops and screens) in terms of inches rather than centimeters?

[–] ArkimedesWasRight@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

We do indeed think, and market devices using inch for screen size. Simply because it always been that way. People are used to it. Now, how many actually know that spec refers to the diagonal...

[–] vga@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago

We do. Same thing for monitor and TV sizes.

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[–] immobile7801@piefed.social 8 points 1 week ago

I want this. I don't think its available in The US though. Someone please make a good linux phone! I like grapheneOS but its still based on android, which hasn't had a great track record of late.

I am really excited. I don't think it will really have much of a market in the US but I think it could have a chance in Europe.

[–] kadu@scribe.disroot.org 6 points 1 week ago

I really want one. But I'm not buying any tech product until my existing one turns to dust and no amount of solder can put it back together. So maybe in five or six years?

[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev 5 points 1 week ago

Why make your own phone? Why not partner with Fairphone? Fairphone seems to be the only vendor out there that sells phones with an alternative ROM (/e/ OS), they might very well be open to an alternative OS like Sailfish.

[–] entwine@programming.dev 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is buying a smartphone with a properietary OS from an EU company really a smart decision after chat control?

I think I'm going to be sticking with Graphene

[–] foenkyfjutschah@programming.dev 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

afaict the OS is fully Open Source. that's a claim on their website.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's proprietary with some open source components.

They've said they aim to be fully open source some day

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I learned C++ just to write apps for my N95, haven't used it since it broke.

I would pick it up again in a heartbeat if I had a new Jolla phone in my hands.

[–] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

i wish i hadn't just replaced my Note 20 Ultra now

[–] NaturalViber@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Why? I have a note 20 ultra, which is why I'm asking.

[–] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

End of software support is fast approaching and i got a good deal on a like new Honor Magic V5.

Also the screen was dying and the battery wasn't far off either. It's still a fantastic phone though

[–] Stupendous@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I feel like things in the consumer software space for Linux is getting there like desktop Linux ~10 years ago. Waydroid is solid. Android translation layer is in development. Valve with Steam machines.

Krita and GIMP look to be in good positions. Kdenlive doesn't crash all the time anymore. Can have good consumer interest synergy between regular Linux/SteamOS/Pop_OS if they ever get big selling hardware and Linux phones

Android apps needed as part of the proposition now. But eventually over many many years there should eventually be a good ecosystem of Linux native phone apps

Nice. I put in the down payment of 99 €, let's see what happens.

[–] paris@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 week ago

Jolla released their first smartphone in 2013 after crowdfunding but ultimately the Sailfish OS focus the past number of years now has been offering their software stack for use on other smartphone devices.

This sentence took me so long to decipher. For others struggling, read "has been offering" as "has been to offer". It's saying they tried hardware, but ultimately they've been offering their software stack to other hardware instead of making their own.

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