Jolla releases Sailfish OS 4.5 with support for Android 11 apps

Jolla has released Sailfish OS 4.5 Struven Ketju, a software upgrade that brings support for Android 11 apps. This extensive support means that the apps should be safer for longer and get additional privacy features.

The Sailfish smartphone operating system lets users install Android apps with Android AppSupport. For the Sailfish upgrade released this week Sailfish supported a maximum of Android 10 apps, which means that Sailfish does not use security updates or other new features that are only in newer Android versions. With the 4.5 update, the operating system supports Android 11 apps. Google will support Android 11 until at least 2024, so the AppSupport upgrade means that Sailfish users should be assured of security patches for Android apps until at least next year, Jolla said.

The upgrade brings other Android 11 features, such as Android apps working more separately from each other and thus infringing less on the user’s privacy, according to Jolla. Sailfish also supports scoped storage on SD cards and one-time permissions for apps, and further limits the use of the user location. AppSupport must also work more securely and more stable, says Jolla.

With the update, users will also hear the same sound effects in Android apps as in the rest of the operating system and the OS should better handle headsets during video calls. Users can also adjust the sound volume via Android app.

Outside of AppSupport, Struven Ketju brings new APIs for developers for, for example, managing user data, map integration and Bluetooth. Furthermore, the Calendar app gets a new interface and users can set an alphanumeric security code for the phone. Finally, the battery life should continue and there are seven hundred bug fixes.