Finnish phone vendor Jolla has released the latest update to its Sailfish OS phone operating system. Named after the Iijoki river in northern Ostrobothnia, Finland, this early access build bumps up the version to 2.1.0.
Among the improvements, there are major changes to the OS with the introduction of the Qt 5.6 UI framework, BlueZ 5 Bluetooth stack, along with basic implementation of 64-bit architecture support.
One of the most important user-facing new features is the support for copy & paste in Sailfish Browser as well as the ability to initiate a call directly from the browser via text selection (if it’s a phone number). Handling of focus has been simplified (you can tap the screen to move the focus point), and the shutter animation and exposure menu have received an overhaul.
On the experience front, users can now customize font sizes with options for Normal, Large and Huge. The Bluetooth UI system dialogues and windows have been redesigned to bring them more in line with the overall look and feel, combo box description label layouts as well as button group layouts have been aligned across the OS.
There is now support for Gujarati and Bulgarian language keyboard layouts, Umpush font has been included for Thai, and Gujarati is available as a choice of system language.
Improvements have been made to the handling of PDFs too, by adding support for annotations, and the ability to return to a previous section after tapping on an internal PDF link.
Finally, support for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) via Open VPN, OpenConnect and VPNC connections has made into this update, with the next update said to include support for the PPTP and L2TP protocols.
If you want to get this newest build, there is one aspect you need to take into consideration, as outlined at the end of the release notes:
Your device must be connected to the Internet and signed in to your Jolla account. If your Jolla account is registered for Early Access releases you should receive an OS update notification when an update is available. If you have decided not to take the Early Access registration then you will get the OS update typically one week later.
Do you have a Jolla device, and if so, are you planning on installing this early access build?
Source: Jolla Blog | Image: Jolla
