Sailfish OS Now Compatible With Android Apps And Hardware

Jolla has just announced that its Sailfish OS has hit a major milestone. The operating system is now compatible with Android applications and hardware. This milestone means that users of Android devices can now use the gesture-based Sailfish OS via various global app stores.

Jolla says that its breakthrough allows the Sailfish OS to run on common hardware produced for Android, including smartphones and tablets. The operating system can now be used on phones and tablets using multiple chipsets and hardware configurations. The crux of this announcement is that tablet or smartphone makers who are building hardware specifically to run the Android operating system can also choose to release the same hardware, in many instances, running Sailfish OS.

That could make Sailfish OS much more attractive to hardware manufacturers because they won't have to build a separate device just to run Sailfish. However, it remains to be seen if these hardware manufacturers want to take a chance on a new operating system when we already know Android is popular.

If you're unfamiliar with Sailfish OS, it is the operating system that resurrected MeeGo. The stated goal when we first heard the operating system was to design an OS that would be immune to the patent wars there were constantly plaguing smartphone users. The patent wars have settled down a bit of late compared to 2012 when word of this operating system first surfaced. Jolla also unveiled its own smartphone back in may called the Jolla Sailfish phone.

SOURCE: Jolla (PDF)