Solana has announced it will release Solana Saga, a brand-new Solana mobile phone as it attempts to expand the Solana roadmap and its efforts beyond the blockchain and Solana NFTs.
In an announcement made earlier in New York on June 23, Solana unveiled plans to introduce a flagship mobile phone that comes with its own set of functionalities and features.
The smartphone also comes with an inbuilt Solana blockchain integration. Here's what it's about.
What Is Solana Saga?
Solana Saga is a new mobile phone created by Solana in collaboration with Osom, an Android development company that developed hardware for companies like Google, Apple, and Intel.
Solana described its Android phone as a "premium hardware experience" and a "flagship-quality Android device purpose-built for crypto".
Explaining Saga, Jason Keats, the CEO of Osom, said:
Saga starts from first principles to create a mobile experience for individuals, developers, and ecosystem participants that opens a new era of mobility. The world needs novel hardware to embrace the future that is web3, and building out an ecosystem that looks to the future without being burdened by past legacy ecosystems is hugely exciting for us.
Alongside the Solana Mobile, the blockchain also announced the launch of the Solana Mobile Stack software ecosystem for Android.
In an unprecedented turn of events, the company which previously had plans to develop Osom OV1 has now abandoned the said project to focus on developing Solana Saga exclusively.
As per a tweet tweeted by the android development company, Osum added that Osum OV1 is no longer in production and that OV1 will now be Solana Saga.
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Solana Saga Specs
The already announced Solana Saga specs are as follows:
- Display: 6.67" OLED
- RAM: 12 GB RAM
- Storage: 512 GB
- Processor: Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Solana Saga Features
Much of the features of Solana Saga come from the Solana Mobile Stack software, dubbed SMS.
This SDK will include a Seed Vault for private keys, Solana Pay for Android, and the Solana dApp Store.
According to Solana, the SMS and Solana dApp Store will allow for developers to create entirely new experiences on the Saga. These include: minting NFTs anywhere, and on a mobile, playing Web3 games on mobile, improved trading, and more.
Along with boasting mainstream blockchain features, the phone will also reportedly have a stainless steel chassis alongside other Web3 functionalities
Solana Saga Release Date?
Solana Saga has a set release date of early 2023, based on the statement from Solana Labs.
However, Solana has not disclosed the official, firm date of this release beyond early 2023. As such, it could launch anytime from January 2023 to June 2023, we'd speculate.
Solana Saga will also only be available in the US, Canada, EU and UK at first.
However, the Solana Mobile Stack is now available for developers to use via GitHub.
Solana Saga Price
The Solana Saga mobile will cost $1000 at launch. This includes an initial, refundable $100 deposit when pre-ordered.
As for the currencies, it seems Solana will first only accept the USDC stablecoin as a payment.
Perhaps later down the line, we could see further cryptocurrencies accepted - such as Solana, but for now USDC is the only option.
Solana Saga Pre-Order
The Solana Saga pre-orders are now live, with potential buyers required to pay a $100 USDC pre-order deposit first.
However, rather than being a pre-order, this is instead a waitlist for the Solana Saga.
Those who pre-order may also be eligible for the Saga Pass, an NFT exclusive to the first set of Saga phones.