Solana Mobile, founded by Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, revealed its new contender in San Francisco on Thursday. And to whoever preordered this bad boy last year, you’re in for a treat. The Solana-native Web3 Crypto Smartphone started to ship! As for everyone else who missed the memo, ‘Saga’ will go on public sale on May 8.
Beware that this isn’t the first attempt at a Web3-inclined mobile. Both phone makers the Giant HTC and Sirin Labs have previously tried to create a crypto-forward smartphone but with no luck. And naturally, this set a ‘question mark’ precedent for Solana.
Become legendary. Watch the official @solanamobile Saga Launch Event Livestream 🌱 https://t.co/X70F1l3PwJ
— Solana (@solana) April 13, 2023
However, the creators of the Solana Web3 smartphone are optimistic.
During the launch event, they declared: “Today is a really big day for us. We’ve done what no one has thought was possible. We built an entire mobile software stack and a flagship phone all optimized to bring crypto to the mobile era and now you get to experience what crypto should be like on a mobile device.”
So, what can we expect from the Solana Crypto smartphone? Let’s get into it.
Main features of ‘Saga’
- 512 GB of storage.
- Two versatile back camera lenses.
- A 6.67-inch OLED display
- 1080p AMOLED screen with a smooth 120Hz display.
- Ships with the latest Android operating system.
- 4,110mAh cell battery.
- Dual-camera setup (50-megapixel main shooter & 12MP ultrawide camera).
- USB-C + Wireless charging.
- Fingerprint scanner.
How Will The Solana Crypto Smartphone ‘Saga’ Alter The Game?
The Saga’s Web3 offering is built around a native custody solution called the Seed Vault. What does this mean?
Well, up until this launch, there was a dire need for a Web3-progressive phone that is able to store all your private keys much like a hardware wallet like Ledger does. This is critical because we always want our crypto to be safe, secure, and stored offline.
In this case, not even your Solana Crypto Smartphone itself will know your seed phrase. How? It doesn’t have access because the secret code is tied to your biometric signature via the rear fingerprint sensor.
In detail, the $1000 Android flagship smartphone will allow you to use your crypto assets to pay much like you’d use Google Pay or Samsung Pay. Moreover, the Solana-native cellphone will be compatible with both Solana Phantom and the Solflare wallets.
It’s worth noting that this phone will allow developers the chance to build on a friendly app store such as the Solana Mobile Stack that doesn’t have extractive fees!
Moreover, Saga’s custom “Dapp” store which strictly lists crypto applications currently has over one dozen apps covering crypto trading, inter-wallet communications, music, and digital collectibles! With more dapps expected to roll out later.
The Verdict On Solana Saga
Hear me out.
People are basically glued to their phones ALL day. They use them to make payments, browse, shop virtually, connect and so much more! And one thing’s for sure, Crypto in itself didn’t yet reach the mainstream adoption phase.
So, the goal with this Solana Crypto Smartphone is to make Cryptography and Web3-bridging smoother and easier for normies and average joes. Not to mention make the lives of the tech-savvy way more convenient.
But one thing remains.
Although the Solana Phone is a promising development for the future of Web3, this is still a very preliminary device with an insanely expensive price tag. The bottom line, it won’t be an option for many individuals out there.
So, will be giving this smartphone a chance?