[Sony Xperia XA2 Questions & Answers] daveinuk:
I've contributed to the together.jolla 'forum' a fair few times, I tend to read it more than participate now as I find myself moaning lol............

I love SFOS don't get me wrong, but the developement is just so painfully slow, and always has been. I knew it was a 'niche' OS when they started out. But I, I suspect, like a lot of others imagined this to be the answer to privacy concerns and data harvesting/mining, that I really loathe with a passion, targeted ad's and all that's tied with it really grind my gears . . . . . . And yet that said, I really love it on the XA2, it's smooth, slick, I still think it's got the best UI and I love the way it works and the fact I can nerd about with it and SSH seamlessly from my laptop or desktop,just cos' I can ;)

It's apps, especially native where it's lacking, still, after 5 years of my use. This is where the android layer appeals, but a lot of us I assume bought into it, assuming the native app's wouldn't be too far down the road, but we were wrong, and we still have to rely on android apps for functionality. Paypal, Airdroid, Waze to name just 3 that have absolutely no comparable SFOS app, I can live with facebook et al via browser shortcuts and make do with this that and the other, but really we shouldn't 'have to'.

Android is a far better experience than I recall from 6 years ago before I got my first Jolla phone, and in the meantime I've had a Sony XperiaX, and now an XA2 Ultra, to use as my 'daily' because I do a lot of images, shared on a facebook page and insta, and I just can't achieve the same with the native SFOS app's as easily. Now then, I bought the XperiaX to flash SFOS on, before I found it wasn't actually rootable, so had to use it with android, and that opened my eyes to what I'd been missing, now the XA2 Ultra I have is unlockable, but I haven't flashed it yet - I now have a third phone - another Sony XA2, and I've flashed that with LineageOS for MicroG, and I'm liking it, but I'm only 3 days in ! (and a much easier flashing experience 2nd time round, getting used to it now)

I considered /e/ - eelo - but it meant buying a much more expensive device to 'try' it out, and I quite like Sony's, and they can be bought at very very reasonable prices. I've only been actively 'playing' with me SFOS phone for the last 6 months and through a couple of updates because initially due to battery/software issues, you'd have never have got a days use out of it, now it gets 4 days quite easily., so I'm using it, but still not as my ' daily driver ' .

I've decided to keep an eye on developements with SFOS but I'm slowly losing the will to be as excited as I used to be about it, they seem to be in this transitional period when they're now getting business, but through a differing business model, and fair play to the boys and girls there, it can't have been an easy ride, but, people won't wait forever to get a functional product, and believe me, I'm an angler, I know all about 'patience' . I thought the new direction might have brought in developers and app's from other contributors due to the open source(ish) nature, but it's not seemingly happening, and that's disappointing. I can't be arsed with all these patches and fixes people do, I wan't the phone to work without having to remember to stop/uninstall/reinstall crap everytime a system update comes, that's just not for me I'm afraid, but fair play to all that get what they want out of it by doing so.

Still, I've not given up on it yet, but I think like all long term relationships, sometimes one of us needs to 'take a break ' or get some space, so maybe I'll have a play with LineageOS for a while, maybe if I like it I'll flash the XA2 Ultra, but the cameras on sony's are good, so I'm undecided, or I might look at PostmarketOS, there's another interesting take on things . . . . . . . . I kind of said to myself after the SFOS3 update that I'd give it til the end of the year on this XA2 to see if any major changes come along that make the app environment much more appealing, but the way they seem to be, slow and seemingly not very communicative with the community, I won't hold my breath !

I don't want to bash SFOS, and I've always wanted it to be that one I told my mates about that were mad not to try, and be proved right, but dipping a toe in the 'other side' feels a bit like the taste of humble pie lol . . . . . . .