Solana Labs revealed on Thursday that it was building its own brand of smartphone, a first for a significant cryptocurrency startup. The Solana Saga is a high-end, 6.67-inch Android phone that will go on sale for $1,000 in the first quarter of 2023. The Saga, which was unveiled during a presentation in New York, is intended to make cryptocurrency trading on mobile phones more accessible and more secure.

Solana is a cryptocurrency that competes with Ethereum, the market’s second-largest cryptocurrency. It intends to dethrone Ethereum by being more efficient: It promises to be able to execute 50,000 transactions per second, compared to 30 per second for Ethereum. It’s also less expensive to use and has a lower carbon footprint. So far, its disadvantage has been security: Solana’s network has been completely shut down twice this year.

The Solana Saga is a rebrand of OSOM’s OV1, which phone enthusiasts will know as the Essential Phone’s spiritual descendant. The privacy-focused OV1 was supposed to be available by the end of the year. 512GB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon+ Gen 1 CPU are also included.

The Saga is essential in Solana’s effort to make cryptocurrency apps more mobile-friendly. Many cryptos, decentralized financial, and NFT applications are more restricted or have complex user interfaces on mobile than on desktop. Solana CEO Anatoly Yakovenko quipped at the occasion that he still sees people bring out computers on dates to mint fresh NFTs.

Backed by Web3

Web3 is a blockchain-based iteration of the World Wide Web (WWW). Solana, on the other hand, is a public blockchain solution for managing digital assets such as tokens and NFTs. As a result, Solana-powered smartphones should allow for simple and safe transactions.

The Solana Mobile Stack, an Android framework that allows developers to construct rich mobile experiences for wallets and apps, has also been launched by the business. Developers may currently use the SDK to create Solana-based apps.

Built by OSOM

While Solana is in charge of all software modifications, OSOM is in order of all Saga hardware needs. OSOM is a startup formed by the same folks that started Essential Devices, which is now owned by Nothing.

OSOM teased a smartphone last year, which is slated to be released in the fourth quarter of 2022. They eventually collaborated with Solana to launch a blockchain-focused smartphone.

Specifications

The Solana Saga has a 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED display, a ceramic back, and a stainless steel frame. The phone weighs 247 grams due to the usage of such materials, yet its 8.4mm thickness is still comfortable in the hands. Similarly, the rear panel features a triangle-shaped camera cutout as well as a fingerprint scanner. With an IP68 rating, the smartphone is also dust and water-resistant.

The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU and, surprisingly, comes with the most recent Android 13.0 operating system. This is coupled with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. According to the business, the 8+ Gen 1’s security capabilities will let them enable Solana Mobile Stack’s Seed Vault.

The private key, seed phrases, and secrets will be separated from the application layer while still allowing interaction with programs running on the device or in a mobile browser. For those unaware, the Program Layer basically ensures that an application can communicate effectively over numerous networks or the internet.

The phone also features a 4100 mAh battery and enables wireless charging. On the back, there’s a dual-camera setup led by a 50MP IMX766 f/1.8 sensor and a 12MP IMX373 f/2.2 120-degree ultrawide camera. It has a 16MP front-facing camera for taking selfies.

Dimensions: 164 x 75.3 x 8.4mm
Weight: 247g
IP Rating: Yes, IP68
Display: 6.67-inch OLED, 120Hz
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4nm)
OS: Android 13
Memory: 12GB RAM, 512GB storage
Rear Camera: Dual (50MP IMX766 primary, 12MP IMX373 ultrawide)
Front Camera: 16MP
Battery: 4100mAh, Wireless charging

Solana Saga Features

The Solana Mobile Stack software, called SMS, is responsible for many of the features of Solana Saga. This SDK will feature a private key seed vault, Solana Pay for Android, and the Solana dApp Store.

According to Solana, the SMS and Solana dApp Store will enable developers to create whole new Saga experiences. These include the ability to mint NFTs anywhere and on any device, play Web3 games on mobile, increase trading, and more. Along with standard blockchain features, the phone is said to include a stainless steel casing and other Web3 functionalities.

When will Solana Saga be released?

According to Solana Labs, the release date for Solana Saga is slated for early 2023. However, Solana has yet to provide an official, definitive launching date beyond early 2023. As a result, it might debut between January 2023 and June 2023.

Solana Saga will also initially be available exclusively in the US, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. The Solana Mobile Stack, on the other hand, is currently accessible for developers to utilize via GitHub.

Solana Saga Cost

At its debut, the Solana Saga smartphone will cost $1000. When pre-ordering, a $100 refundable deposit is required.

In terms of currencies, Solana will initially only take the USDC stablecoin as payment. Perhaps in the future, other cryptocurrencies, such as Solana, will be accepted, but for the time being, USDC is the only option.

Conclusion

Solana’s new Solana Mobile Stack, which will first operate on the Solana Saga, is intended to address this issue. It’s open-source software with three primary components: a Mobile Wallet Adapter, a Seed Vault, and Solana Pay. The wallet adaptor links Android apps to the device’s Solana crypto wallet. The Seed Vault separates wallet seed phrases and passwords from phone apps in an attempt to combine a hardware wallet’s security with an internet-connected wallet’s usefulness. Solana Pay will function similarly to Apple Pay and Google Pay, with the exception that users will be able to transact using Solana cryptocurrency or Solana-compatible tokens, such as the USDC stablecoin.

The Solana Saga pre-orders are now available, with interested customers asked to pay a $100 USDC pre-order deposit first. However, this is a waitlist for the Solana Saga rather than a pre-order. Those who pre-order may also be eligible for the Saga Pass, an NFT limited to the initial batch of Saga phones.