The Other Half: The Jolla Phone adapts to its back cover
In Helsinki, Jolla has handed over the first devices of the new Jolla Phone to pre-orderers. 500 people stood in line. At the same time, the company announced interchangeable back covers that change the smartphone.
Jolla has revived its "The Other Half" concept for its latest phone. The idea: The smartphone recognizes the back cover directly when it is attached via a connector and adapts to it. The simple version for the launch changes the appearance to match the color of the orange, black, or white back cover. There is even an specially composed piece of music for each color. The company rewards the first 10,000 community members with a blue back cover.
However, Jolla's idea goes beyond cosmetic adjustments. In the next step, the smart covers are intended to adapt the smartphone for different situations. For example, one back cover could activate apps, accounts, and contacts for work, and another could block banking apps or sensitive data – for instance, when going out. The manufacturer also mentions modes for children or elderly people as further examples, which can be activated by changing the back cover.
Hardware and software of "The Other Half" are open source. Jolla invites hobbyists, startups, and companies to develop their own back covers.
A smartphone from Finland
The new Jolla Phone was introduced in December 2025. Since then, the company of former Nokia employees has collected over 15,000 pre-orders. With Sailfish OS, which Commodore also uses for its flip phone, the company uses its own operating system and advertises it as the only European operating system for smartphones. Fittingly, and in line with the company's history, the final assembly of the Jolla Phone takes place in Salo, the historical home of Nokia.
The first Jolla Phone was launched in 2013 and was presented in Narinkkatori Square. The place where the queue of people picking up the new Jolla Phone formed.
As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
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