Running Android apps on Sailfish OS will do a world of good to them

New Jolla CEO Tomi Pienimäki said “highly popular apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Spotify run directly on Sailfish OS.” Here’s the question, though. Does the average person who wants to run Android apps really want to run them on something other than an Android phone?

Having an Android-compatible VM on board has certainly helped BlackBerry close the app gap, but it hasn’t been enough to secure high-profile apps for the struggling platform. Will things be different for an upstart startup like Jolla?

It will certainly be easier to convince developers to bring their Android apps to Sailfish. Pienimäki noted that no modification is required. Presumably that means there’s no need to run an Android app through a packager of some sort (a la BlackBerry) prior to submitting it to Jolla’s store.

Pienimäki also said that makes it easier to convince OEMs to give Sailfish OS a shot on their hardware — and to then convince consumers that Sailfish smartphones are worth buying. Easier doesn’t mean easy, of course. It’s still going to be tough for Jolla to break in to a market that’s dominated by the iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy range of Android smartphones.

Even Windows Phone is picking up steam, especially in some markets where Jolla is hoping Sailfish OS might stick. There’s also Firefox OS standing in the way now that Mozilla and its partners have browser-powered smartphones on sale across the globe.