In surprising news, Solana, a public blockchain company has announced a new smartphone. The Solana Saga is being touted as a flagship-level Android smartphone that will offer a unique set of features integrated with the Solana blockchain. As you might expect with this kind of integration, Saga will be able to easily and securely perform transactions, while also being able to manage digital assets.

Built by OSOM, arriving in Q1 2023

During an event in New York, Solana introduced the Saga, along with a framework for Android that will allow developers to create mobile experiences for wallets and apps called Solana Mobile Stack. While the underlying experience might be from Solana, the Saga hardware is designed and built by OSOM. If that name sounds familiar, it's because the company is made of the former Essential staff. The firm teased a new smartphone last year, announcing that its OSOM OV1 would arrive sometime in the final quarter of 2022.

Co-founder and CEO of OSOM, Jason Keats stated:

Saga starts from first principles to create a mobile experience for individuals, developers, and ecosystem participants that opens a new era of mobility. 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.

The Solana Saga will have a 6.67-inch display, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, 12GB RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. The differentiating feature will be its software, which relies on the Solana Mobile Stack, delivering security and capabilities catering to Web3. If you're wondering, the phone looks to be nearly identical to the OSOM OV1. Preorders for the device are now open, with a $100 deposit giving you a spot in line. The handset will end up costing $1000 and is expected to arrive in Q1 2023.


Source: Solana