Solana Mobile Debuts Its Flagship Android Phone For Web3

Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of Solana Labs, has introduced Saga, a flagship Android mobile phone with unique functionality and features. Tightly integrated with the Solana blockchain, the phone will make it easy and secure to transact in Web3 and manage digital assets, such as tokens and NFTs.

The phone was introduced at an event in New York last week, which also included the introduction of the Solana Mobile Stack, a framework for Android that enables developers to create rich mobile experiences for wallets and apps on Solana and create a "Secure Element" for private key management, the company said in a statement.

"Almost 7 billion people use smartphones around the world and more than 100 million people hold digital assets - and both of those numbers will continue to grow," said Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana. "Saga sets a new standard for the web3 experience on mobile."

The Solana Mobile Stack SDK is available to developers now and Saga is available for pre-order with delivery in early 2023.

As per the release, Saga includes a 6.67" OLED display, 12 GB RAM, 512 GB storage and the latest flagship Snapdragon® 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform, the security features of which will enable the Solana Mobile Stack's Seed Vault.

With the addition of a Secure Element built into the device, the Seed Vault keeps private keys, seed phrases and secrets separated from the application layer yet still capable of interacting with apps running on the device or in a mobile browser.

Pre-orders for Saga require a $100 fully refundable deposit, which will be applied to the anticipated final cost of $1,000, and will be prioritized for developers in order to test the Solana Mobile Stack and Saga.

Those who pre-order may be eligible to receive a Saga Pass, an NFT accompanying the first wave of Saga devices and the first ticket to influencing the direction of the SMS platform.

"We chose the Saga name because the story of crypto is still being written," said Raj Gokal, co-founder of Solana. "This is the next chapter of this narrative and we believe opening up crypto to mobile will lead to greater adoption, better understanding, and more opportunities."

Saga is designed and manufactured by OSOM, a leading Android development company whose team has extensive experience building computing hardware for Google, Apple and Intel, among others.

"Saga starts from first principles to create a mobile experience for individuals, developers, and ecosystem participants that opens a new era of mobility," said Jason Keats, co-founder and CEO of OSOM.

"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."