Solana launches Smartphone that focuses on Web 3

The Solana network is developing its own smartphone named Saga. Crypto Lists can reveal that Solanas upcoming release aims to improve the crypto mobile relationship with its users. It marks a milestone for the cryptocurrency industry where Web3 technology is integrated beyond the desktop.

Solana bridging the gap in mobile self-custody crypto experiences

For over 10 years, crypto users have relied upon desktops to engage in self-custody experiences in crypto. Interaction with crypto has generally been by installing a browser extension and plugging in a thumb drive. The Solana network has witnessed a rapid increase in active addresses. It now serves as the largest platform for NFTs due to its user-friendly on-ramp to crypto. It hosts a global community of developers of various applications in DeFi, gaming, collectibles, and payments. They authenticate these transactions using private keys. However, several people disrupt their daily activities to head back to their computers and sign key contracts in mints, trades, listings, and transfers. These are all critical to crypto enthusiasts.

The gap highlighted craves companies with the resources for self-custody mobile feature implementation. Apple and Google are yet to lay the roadmap for crypto. It is an increasing motivation for Web3 developers to build for mobile usage than around mobile usage. It became clear that crypto had to go mobile and Solana is taking the lead.

Saga and Solana Mobile Stack Launch

Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of Solana Labs, is introducing its smartphone, Saga. The mobile phone was previously known as the Osom OV1 since its tease in 2020. It is a flagship Android phone with unique functionality whose features primarily integrate with the Solana Blockchain. The Solana Labs engineering department began a review of Web3 for mobile by focusing on eliminating friction for self-custody. It aims to ease and secure transactions in Web3 and oversee digital assets such as NFTs and tokens.

The co-founder of Solana blockchain, Anatoly Yakovenko, highlighted the potential of the Saga smartphone by issuing figures on smartphone adoption. He mentions that there are over 7 billion users of smartphones and 100 million holders of digital assets with the numbers expected to grow. Saga sets a new standard in Web3 on mobile.

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Antony Yakovenko, also the CEO of Solana Labs, recently introduced the Saga mobile at an event in an auditorium in New York. The announcement of the Android web3-focused smartphone was similar to Steve Jobs introducing Apple’s iPhone. During the event, he stated that the Web3 smartphone is critical and fundamental to the cryptocurrency industry. It allows access to a decentralised application(dApps) mobile store where users download decentralised trading platforms and NFTs. There are no costs associated with the release of the dApp store. The Solana team seeks to eventually have the network’s community participants governing its catalogue.

What is Solana Mobile Stack?

Besides launching Saga, Yakovenko also announced the launch of Solana Mobile Stack (SMS). It is a Web3 layer for the Solana network that the team built on Saga. Steven Laver, mobile engineering lead at Solana Labs, mentions that Web3 previously felt it was in the year 2007. The SMS creates experiences for the community where the SMS citizens are first-class citizens on Solana. The SMS is a framework for Android facilitating developers to publish and distribute their mobile dApps. It also integrates Solana Pay for QR code-based on-chain payments, a mobile wallet adapter, and a seed vault. The seed vault is a secure element for private key management within the recesses of the phone.

At the event, the CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, acknowledged that everything is moving to mobile. People access various products through their mobile phones. He says the mobile accessibility of crypto products is currently not ideal and the launch is a significant development for the crypto industry. He insists that having a hardware wallet in a Web3-enabled mobile device is super powerful.

Solana Labs will partner with other crypto companies such as FTX, Coral, Orca, Magic Eden, Okay Bears, StepN, Kiyomi/OpenEra, and Phantom in powering the ecosystem and building the phone. The Solana Foundation also pledged a $10 million developer fund for spurring the development of mobile apps on its SMS. The COO of Solana Labs, Raj Gokal, highlighted that there are high-quality builders onboarding and ready for the next leg of user growth. He mentions that they chose the Saga name as the crypto industry narrative is still being written.

How will Solana’s New Saga Mobile Look like?

The Saga phone will have a 6.67-inch OLED display, 512 GB storage, and 12 GB of RAM. Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko unveiled that it will cost $1000 and be available from Q1 of 2023. It is currently available for pre-order with a $100 deposit. Not much is shown about the look of the phone and all CryptoLists.com received is a small image showing the expected look from the back of Solana’s mobile.

Crypto Lists evaluates that Solana’s recent launch of Saga and SMS opens up crypto to mobile for greater adoption, understanding, and opportunities. It launches Solana into the Big Tech leagues and has its ecosystem reach mainstream audiences. It would encourage other cryptocurrency blockchains to do the same.

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