The new Jolla Phone might support swappable back covers that add new hardware capabilities

This month Jolla launched a crowdfunding campaign for a new smartphone designed to run the company’s Linux-based Sailfish operating system. At the time Jolla was hoping to get at least 2,000 people to put down a deposit before it would commit to actually manufacturing the phone.

As of this morning, more than 5,600 people have backed the project. So, like many crowdfunding campaigns before it, Jolla has announced a stretch goal. If at least 10,000 people pre-order the phone, Jolla will design it to support swappable rear covers that can change the look and functionality of the phone.

This isn’t a totally new idea for Jolla. The first Jolla Phone was compatible with swappable covers too when it launched in 2013. Jolla called this cover system “The Other Half,” and at the time those rear covers used an I2C interface and NFC to communicate with the phone so that once attached, you’d not only change the look of the back of your phone, but the Jolla Phone would also install a matching wallpaper and custom ring tones and notification sounds.

The 2025 version of The Other Half could go even further. Jolla plans to use I3C connections for the new model, which could bring support for high-speed connections between the cover and the phone. That could theoretically enable support for covers that add hardware capabilities like an E Ink display, keyboard, wireless radios (like Zigbee or LoRa), cameras, an extra battery, an actual headphone jack, or other features.

Jolla is turning to the community for feedback. In a series of polls, the company is asking potential customers what kind of features they’d want The Other Half to support, how fast the connection speed should be, how much the first covers should cost, and how often people would anticipate swapping covers.

Of course, even if Jolla does sell 10,000 or more phones, it’s likely that only a fraction of buyers will be interested in purchasing The Other Half modules, so I suspect that the company will only produce one or two of the most popular models at first.

But Jolla says it will open source the hardware and software interface specifications, which should let users design and 3D print their own covers.