Solana Mobile is planning to launch a follow-up to its Saga smartphone, with a cheaper price point.
According to a person familiar with the matter, CoinDesk reported, the new smartphone will feature different hardware, while incorporating the same crypto-friendly features as the original Saga smartphone. Those include a built-in crypto wallet, decentralized application (dapp) store and custom Android software.
Developed by Solana Mobile and Android development firm OSOM as a “moonshot,” the original Solana Saga was priced at $1,000 on its launch in May 2023. Although Decrypt‘s review called it a “premium Android flagship,” sales of the device were initially underwhelming, with the firm slashing the price of the Saga by $400 after four months on sale.
At the time, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko said that, “We really need it to hit 25,000 to 50,000 units to feel like there is a hardcore user base for developers to be compelled to ship applications.”
However, interest in the device picked up in the latter part of 2023, thanks to a surge in popularity of Solana-based meme coins such as BONK that were bundled with the Saga device. By December, the Saga had sold out as crypto traders realized that the bundled BONK tokens were worth more than the device itself.
“Our priority is to continue listening to our community so that we can understand what this demand looks like, both now and in the future, and assess what comes next,” a Solana Labs representative told Decrypt at the time.
What came next was a series of airdrops to Saga owners, who received tokens and NFTs including Saga Monkes, which currently have a floor price of over $1,000 on secondary marketplaces. Although the price of BONK has plunged to the point where the 30 million tokens bundled with Saga devices are now worth just under $420, unopened Saga phones continue to command high prices on marketplaces such as eBay.
Decrypt has reached out to Solana for comment and will update this article should we receive a response.