• Solana’s Saga Web3 phone will go on sale in early May as a crypto and blockchain-enabled device.
• Previous crypto-first phones have failed to break into the market dominated by big tech names.
• The phone includes features such as 512 GB of storage, two back camera lenses, a 6.67-inch OLED display, a fingerprint scanner, and an internal security system for sending, receiving, trading and storing crypto.
Solana’s Crypto-First ‘Saga’ Smartphone
Solana is set to launch its new Web3 focused Android smartphone called Saga in early May 2021. It is billed as a crypto-first device which has been tried before but with limited success due to the dominance of big tech names such as Apple and Samsung in the market.
Features of the Phone
The phone boasts features such as 512 GB of storage, two back camera lenses, a 6.67-inch OLED display, a fingerprint scanner and an internal security system for sending, receiving, trading and storing cryptocurrency securely. It also has a custom dApp store that only lists crypto-based apps without imposing extractive fees on apps listed there. Lastly it includes the „Solana Mobile Stack“ (SMS) which is a selection of customizable add-ons that power crypto functionalities into Saga’s hardware and software.
Previous Crypto Smartphones
Previous attempts at launching crypto smartphones have failed due to lack of traction or difficulty in breaking into the crowded market controlled by tech giants like Apple and Samsung. Sirin Labs and HTC both attempted similar projects in 2018 and 2019 respectively but were unsuccessful in gaining any significant foothold in the market.
Will Saga Succeed?
Saga is hoping to succeed where these previous attempts failed with better timing and more functional features suited to the changing world moving towards Web3 applications. With Solana taking steps towards being an ecosystem leader for this emerging audience, this could be seen as a watershed moment for the project if successful upon release on 8th of May 2021.
Conclusion
It remains to be seen whether Solana’s offering will be good enough to break into this tough market dominated by big tech names or if it will suffer from similar fates as its predecessors failed before it.