Solana Labs has unveiled a new Android phone that will be available for sale from 2023.
Solana has announced that it will release Solana Saga, a brand new Solana mobile phone as it attempts to expand the Solana roadmap and its efforts beyond blockchain and solana NFT.
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 features and functionality.
The smartphone also comes with a built-in Solana blockchain integration. That’s what it’s all about.
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What Is Solana Saga?
Solana Saga is a new mobile phone created by Solana in collaboration with Osom, an Android development company that has developed hardware for companies such as Google, Apple and Intel.
Solana described her Android phone as a “premium hardware experience” and a “flagship quality Android device purpose-built for cryptocurrencies.”
Explaining Saga, Jason Keats, CEO of Osom, said:
Saga starts from the first principles to create a mobile experience for individuals, developers and ecosystem participants that opens a new era of mobility. The world needs new hardware to embrace the future that is web3 and building an ecosystem that looks to the future without being burdened with legacy ecosystems of the past is extremely exciting for us.
Alongside Solana Mobile, the blockchain also announced the launch of the Solana Mobile Stack software ecosystem for Android.
Solana Saga Specs
The already announced specifications of Solana Saga are as follows:
- Display: 6.67″ OLED
- RAM: 12 GB RAM
- Memory: 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 solana dApp Store.
According to Solana, SMS and the Solana dApp Store will allow developers to create entirely new experiences on the Saga. These include: coining NFT anywhere and on a mobile phone, playing Web3 games on mobile devices, improved trading and more.
Solana Saga Release Date?
Solana Saga has a release date set for early 2023, based on Solana Labs’ statement.
However, Solana did not reveal the official and final date of this release beyond the beginning of 2023. As such, it could be launched at any time from January 2023 to June 2023, we assume.
Solana Saga will only be available in the US, Canada, EU and UK.
However, Solana Mobile Stack is now available to developers via GitHub.
Solana Saga Price
The Solana Saga mobile will cost $1000 at launch. This includes a refundable initial deposit of $100 when pre-ordered.
As for currencies, it seems that Solana will first only accept the USDC stablecoin as payment.
Perhaps further down the line, we could see more cryptocurrencies accepted – such as Solana, but for now USDC is the only option.
Solana Saga Pre-Order
Solana Saga pre-orders are now active, with potential buyers required to pay a pre-order deposit of $100 USDC first.
However, rather than being a pre-order, this is instead a waiting list for the Solana Saga.
Those who pre-order may also be eligible for the Saga Pass, an exclusive NFT for the first set of Saga phones.
