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Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should by high in your list of things to implement
• technical step to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should by high in your list of things to implement
• technical step to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should by high in your list of things to implement
• technical step steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should by high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should by high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should by high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comment s comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should by be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also Important important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority to make by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where is this precondition is missing.)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where this precondition is missing.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation (mal is a nickname):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

(read up to 9:01)

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Occasionally an android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major phone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X devices. (How many SailfishX were sold or running on Xperia-X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. :) )

Over time android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Very important apps (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With 3.1.0 releases a number of improvement to the android support were announced and it is out of beta, so Jolla should consider the port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to Jolla1 devices, where this precondition is missing.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation (mal is a nickname):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

(read up to 9:01)

also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Where are those kernels to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of SailfishX Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (or 9)!(rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most Banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Occasionally an android Android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app app and serve only the two major phone smartphone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish on Xperia-X OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia-XA2 Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia-X Xperia X devices. (How many SailfishX Sailfish OS licenses were sold or are running on Xperia-X?) Xperia X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on together. Together. :) )

Over time android Android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia-X Xperia X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most Banks banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Occasionally an Android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major smartphone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X.

A unique selling proposing of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia X devices. (How many Sailfish OS licenses were sold or are running on Xperia X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on Together. :) )

Over time Android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia-X Xperia X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because one technical task can be considered in more detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for SailfishX on Xperia-X:Sailfish OS on Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With 3.1.0 releases a number of improvement to the android support were announced and it is out of beta, so Jolla should consider the port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to Jolla1 older devices, where this precondition is missing.)missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)ame of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 9:01.09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Where are those ports to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Occasionally an Android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major smartphone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X.

A unique selling proposing point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia X devices. (How many Sailfish OS licenses were sold or are running on Xperia X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on Together. :) )

Over time Android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because one a single technical task can be considered is easier to consider in more detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for Sailfish OS on Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With 3.1.0 releases a number of improvement to the android support were announced and it is out of beta, so Jolla should consider the port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)ame of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Where are those ports to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Occasionally an Android app is needed because more and more organisations offer some functionality only as app and serve only the two major smartphone operating systems. Being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X.

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of users that have bought the software for a premium price are still running Xperia X devices. (How many Sailfish OS licenses were sold or are running on Xperia X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on Together. :) )

Over time Android apps make use of newer features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have some statistics what current apps are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for improved Android support for Sailfish OS on Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With 3.1.0 releases a number of improvement to the android support were announced and it is out of beta, so Jolla should consider the port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)ame (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Where are those ports to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?

Dear Jolla- and Community-Developers,Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Occasionally an Android app is needed because more and more organisations offer For some functionality functionalities simply not supported by any native app, Android apps are the only as app and serve only the two major smartphone operating systems. Being way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use many apps is removes a potential critical those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X.X for many.

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

Quite a number of A large percentage of the users that who have bought the software for a premium price Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running Xperia X devices. (How many Sailfish OS licenses were sold or are running on Xperia X?) (Upvoting may help for those that are registered and active on Together. :) )these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of currently supported apps for which still support Android 4.4 will be shrinking, making it more useful over time. (Do we have (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some statistics what current apps people are requiring?) (A trend that lessens priority over time is that Xperia willing to fund an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperiya X devices will fail some time, so the user base profiting from the task will be slowing dimishing.)

Some people maybe willing to fund the implementation (see comments below). (What would be costs for this to crowdfund?)below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on the Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 releases release came a number of improvement to the android improvements to the Android support were announced and it is out of beta, so Jolla should consider the is considering such port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Where Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are those ports to be found?

Where is the current "Baseport 6" code to be found. (How useful is it?)

What steps would be necessary for a "Baseport 8"?located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

For some functionalities simply are not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many.many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to fund pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperiya Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the Android support were announced and it is out of beta, so Jolla is considering such port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

For some functionalities simply are not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the Android support were announced and it is "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out of beta, beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so Jolla is they are considering such port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

For some Some functionalities are simply are not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) we will make sure you can use it many years.

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering such port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: See "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device) device), we will make sure you can use it many years.years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering such port now, if they follow their statement.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering such port now, if they follow their statement.)now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes of the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below. Note that considering rsp. working on it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (on a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering such port porting efforts now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes of the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below. below.
Note that considering rsp. working on "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical steps to be done to help with the implementation planning

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (on (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering such porting efforts now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes of from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation planning (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering such porting efforts now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most request requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering such porting efforts to for X devices now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering porting efforts to for for the Xperia X devices and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The FAQ point 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering porting efforts for the Xperia X and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)

09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?

All of the Xperia SailfishX adaptations are open-source and can be found here:
https://github.com/mer-hybris/

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The SailfishX FAQ point answer 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09)2019-08-09; formerly answer 13)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering porting efforts for the Xperia X and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)
09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?
By @Andy Branson in a comment on 2019-08-20, below:

All of the Xperia SailfishX adaptations are open-source and can be found here:
https://github.com/mer-hybris/

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are most banks (that is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps)..apps).

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The SailfishX FAQ answer 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09; formerly answer 13)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering porting efforts for the Xperia X and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" it does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)
09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?
By @Andy Branson in a comment on 2019-08-20, below:

All of the Xperia SailfishX adaptations are open-source and can be found here:
https://github.com/mer-hybris/

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are the webservers of most banks (that (this is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more.more. Note that only apps using Android's cryptography APIs are affected (while Firefox, OpenKeychain and a few other apps bring their own cryptographic functions).

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps).

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The SailfishX FAQ answer 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09; formerly answer 13)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, so they are considering porting efforts for the Xperia X and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)
09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?
By @Andy Branson in a comment on 2019-08-20, below:

All of the Xperia SailfishX adaptations are open-source and can be found here:
https://github.com/mer-hybris/

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are the webservers of most banks (this is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more. Note that only apps using Android's cryptography APIs are affected (while Firefox, OpenKeychain and a few other apps bring their own cryptographic functions).

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps).

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The SailfishX FAQ answer 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09; formerly answer 13)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release, release (see section "Sailfish X and Xperia XA2"), so they are considering porting efforts for the Xperia X and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)
09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?
By @Andy Branson in a comment on 2019-08-20, below:

All of the Xperia SailfishX adaptations are open-source and can be found here:
https://github.com/mer-hybris/

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are the webservers of most banks (this is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more. Note that only apps using Android's cryptography APIs are affected (while Firefox, OpenKeychain and a few other apps bring their own cryptographic functions).

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps).

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The SailfishX FAQ answer 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09; formerly answer 13)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release (see section "Sailfish X and Xperia XA2"), so they are considering porting efforts for the Xperia X and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)
09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?
By @Andy Branson in a comment on 2019-08-20, below:

All of the Xperia SailfishX adaptations are open-source and can be found here:
https://github.com/mer-hybris/

08:45:07 <KeeperoftheKeys> What is the chance that we will get Android 8 support on the Xperia X? Sony supported it there (I actually didn't listen to the instructions and updated my phone all the way to 8 before installing SFOS - no issues as far as I can tell)
08:45:07 <Jaymzz> anyhow, time is up for this one too
08:45:43 <Jaymzz> KeeperoftheKeys: We are preparing a statement regarding that which will come out with the next Sailfish OS update blog post (most likely) so stay tuned for that
08:45:58 <Jaymzz> as we don't usually announce things on the IRC meeting :P
08:46:07 <KeeperoftheKeys> (I would be willing to even make a "donation" to Jolla to get that, the Xperia X is superior to the XA2 and the 10)
08:46:31 <pasik> Jaymzz: thanks :)
08:47:12 <Jaymzz> thanks KeeperoftheKeys :) let's wait a couple of weeks or so, so that we can get our facts straight regarding the matter and make the announcement on what we plan to do.

Dear Jolla,

please upgrade the Android support of Sailfish OS for the Xperia X from 4.4 Kitkat to 8.1 Oreo (rsp. the same "AlienDalvik" Android runtime environment the Xperia XA2s use).

This community wiki collects

• reasons why this should be high in your list of things to implement
• technical status and steps to be done to help with the implementation (planning)

Supporting reasons

Security: Google has stopped maintaining the AOSP 4.x codebase in 2017. Jolla (or still Myriad Group at that time) seems to have subsequently updated to that code base, but since then the AOSP components integrated in AlienDalvik likely have received no security fixes at all.

Security relevant functionality: AOSP 4.x and the AlienDalvik versions based on it do not support hash algorithms of the SHA-2 family, but only older algorithms as SHA-1, MD5 etc., which are broken meanwhile and hence being broadly phased out since 2018. Examples are the webservers of most banks (this is one of the reasons why so many Android banking apps stopped working), Gitlab, Github and many more. Note that only apps using Android's cryptography APIs are affected (while Firefox, OpenKeychain and a few other apps bring their own cryptographic functions).

Some functionalities are simply not supported by any native app, hence Android apps are the only way to perform these tasks under Sailfish OS. Not being able to use those, which require Android 5 (API level 20) or higher constitutes a blocker for real life usage of Sailfish OS on the Xperia X for many (most prominent example: many banking apps).

A unique selling point of Sailfish OS is that devices are supported a long time, this is good for the environment and users can keep their experience with the phone. Upgrading the Android support strengthens this selling point and can be used as an example for future buyers: "See, if you buy Sailfish OS now (for a fresh device), we will make sure you can use it well for many years."

If Sailfish OS on Xperia X has the same Android support level as on Xperia XA2 this allows more users to share their experiences and probably leads to less questions.

A large percentage of the users who have bought Sailfish OS for their Xperia X are still running these devices.

Over time Android apps make use of newer Android API features, so the fraction of apps which still support Android 4.4 (API level 19) is shrinking.

Quite some people are willing to pay for an updated Android runtime environment "AlienDalvik" for the Xperia X (see comments below).

Editors: Please focus on Xperia X because a single technical task is easier to consider in detail. Also important is to stay constructive and respectful. It is understandable and normal that there are other items on the implementation roadmap. The goal is to raise the priority by making the task and its importance for the user base and company well understood.

Relevant apps affected (examples)

• Banking apps (see comments below for reports and also the comments on Jolla's Seitseminen blog post).

Affected users

Other places where users are wishing for an improved Android support for Sailfish OS on the Xperia X:

• 7 users asked for it on https://blog.jolla.com/seitseminen/ , it is the most requested improvement in the 81 comments as of 2019-08-09.14:00
• 81 upvotes for https://together.jolla.com/question/198410/is-android-81-support-coming-for-xperia-x/ (accessed 2019-08-09)

References

The SailfishX FAQ answer 11 states (accessed 2019-08-09; formerly answer 13)

we will look into whether supporting other Sailfish devices (like Xperia X) is feasible only after we’ve got the support in XA2 in good enough maturity level and well stabilized.

(With the Sailfish OS 3.1.0 release came a number of improvements to the "Android support" based on AOSP 8 (only for / on the XA2 devices) and Jolla named this as one reason why Sailfish OS for the XA2s was put out beta status with the 3.1.0 release (see section "Sailfish X and Xperia XA2"), so they are considering porting efforts for the Xperia X and likely also the Gemini PDA now; this is more or less confirmed by the quotes from the mer-meeting 2019-07-11 below.
Note that "considering" or "working on" does not predetermine a specific outcome of these efforts.)

Technical

As outlined in https://together.jolla.com/question/208404/what-version-of-android-is-supported-currently-on-sfos-and-xperia-x/ Sony is providing drivers and kernels which are a precondition to port to a new "Baseport 8" adaption layer, which is needed. (This is a technical difference to older devices, where this precondition is missing, e.g. Jolla 1, Jolla C, Intex Aquafish, Jolla Tablet.)

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-07-11-08.00.log.html at

08:50:12 <sledges> #topic WIP AOSP8 rebase for X / X Compact (10 min - asked by vknecht)

indicates that Jolla has a proof-of-concept implementation ("mal" is likely a (nick)name of an Jolla employee):

08:57:25 <sledges> that's why best is to ask us for the best approach before starting a job of such magnitude:) especially, when mal has already a PoC

Continue reading up to 09:01.

Also on a possible Android 9 port:

09:21:47 <sledges> vknecht: forgot to add earlier: Android 9 sfos wiki has been designed with porting X and XA2 to 9 as well (see the -pie suffix on repo names)
09:21:56 <sledges> so the soil is fertile

Does anybody know, where the source code repositories of these ports are located?
By @Andy Branson in a comment on 2019-08-20, below:

All of the Xperia SailfishX adaptations are open-source and can be found here:
https://github.com/mer-hybris/

Update 2019-Sept-23

http://merproject.org/meetings/mer-meeting/2019/mer-meeting.2019-09-19-08.00.log.html has this hint:

08:45:07 <KeeperoftheKeys> What is the chance that we will get Android 8 support on the Xperia X? Sony supported it there (I actually didn't listen to the instructions and updated my phone all the way to 8 before installing SFOS - no issues as far as I can tell)
08:45:07 <Jaymzz> anyhow, time is up for this one too
08:45:43 <Jaymzz> KeeperoftheKeys: We are preparing a statement regarding that which will come out with the next Sailfish OS update blog post (most likely) so stay tuned for that
08:45:58 <Jaymzz> as we don't usually announce things on the IRC meeting :P
08:46:07 <KeeperoftheKeys> (I would be willing to even make a "donation" to Jolla to get that, the Xperia X is superior to the XA2 and the 10)
08:46:31 <pasik> Jaymzz: thanks :)
08:47:12 <Jaymzz> thanks KeeperoftheKeys :) let's wait a couple of weeks or so, so that we can get our facts straight regarding the matter and make the announcement on what we plan to do.

10:47:10 <Hummer12007> did jolla publish the statement on xperia x+ad future yet btw?
10:47:21 <Jaymzz> Hummer12007: not yet :)
10:47:25 <Jaymzz> but it's coming
10:47:33 <Hummer12007> no eta?
... snip ...
10:48:18 <Jaymzz> Hummer12007: No proper eta but before the end of the year :)