Press Release: Jolla’s Sailfish OS runs Android apps natively without modification.

Whilst this is a Nokia blog, we do also talk about anything Nokia related. And Jolla has roots in MeeGo/Maemo and of course, Nokia peeps in the team. An interesting press release from Jolla shows that their Sailfish OS runs Android apps natively without any modification. In comparison to say, BB10, apparently, at least from folks who’ve used it (I’m using Sam J Pullen, an all around tech/phone video blogger) BB’s implementation is horrible. Let’s see how Jolla takes care of the apps.

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Sailfish OS achieves compatibility with Android ecosystem
HELSINKI – September 16, 2013. Sailfish OS has achieved a major milestone whereby the OS is now compatible
with the AndroidTM ecosystem, in terms of application and hardware compatibility.
Android applications run directly on Sailfish OS without any modifications

Users enjoying the unique gesture-based and modern Sailfish OS user experience will be able to take full
advantage of the Android application ecosystem available through various app stores globally. Jolla will cooperate with leading global app stores to ensure users can seamlessly download Android apps just as they would
do on any Android device.
“For example, highly popular apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Spotify run directly on Sailfish OS. Also
Chinese WeChat – already with over 400 million users – runs on Sailfish OS,” says Jolla CEO Tomi Pienimäki.
Sailfish OS runs on common Android hardware
Jolla has made a major breakthrough in Android hardware compatibility by developing Sailfish OS to run on
common hardware produced for Android, particularly smartphones and tablets. Vendors interested to utilize
Sailfish OS are now able to develop phones and tablets based on many different chipset and hardware
configurations. This new level of compatibility will enable device vendors who use Sailfish OS to fully utilize the
existing Android hardware ecosystem.
Jolla believes that this breakthrough offers growth opportunities of significant scale for Sailfish OS globally,
especially in China. “We believe Sailfish with Android compatibility is a highly relevant mobile operating system
option for major mobile companies in Europe and in Asia. We are already in discussions with several major Asian
vendors regarding this opportunity,” says Tomi Pienimäki.
Next production batch will be opened for pre-orders this week
The last weeks have been very dynamic in the mobile industry and after the Microsoft-Nokia announcement the
strategic position of Jolla and Sailfish OS has strengthened significantly.
“Due to extremely positive feedback and increased demand in the past weeks, we are offering another pre-order
opportunity for our second production batch later this week through jolla.com. This will be targeted to Finnish
customers who want to express their passion for the Finnish mobile industry,” Pienimäki concludes.

Thanks Zlutor for the tip!

Category: Jolla, Linux