Solana Mobile Receives 30,000 Pre-orders for New Smartphone

In a remarkable turn of events, Solana Mobile's announcement of its latest smartphone, Saga Chapter 2, has caused a frenzy among tech enthusiasts and crypto enthusiasts alike. Within a mere 30 hours of the unveiling on January 16, the company received a staggering 30,000 pre-orders for the device, surpassing their initial goal of seven days. TechCrunch reports that this second version of the smartphone has outperformed its predecessor in terms of pre-orders.

The Saga Chapter 2 smartphone will run on the Android operating system and comes with a built-in crypto wallet and a decentralized app store, providing users with access to a wide array of decentralized applications. This combination of features aims to cater to developers looking to incentivize their users through dApps without incurring the typical app store fees.

Despite its high demand, Solana Mobile has set the initial price for Saga Chapter 2 at $450, making it a more budget-friendly option compared to the original Solana Mobile model, which is priced at $599. The smartphone is expected to hit the market in the first half of 2025, according to a Solana representative.

Solana Mobile plans to launch its new smartphone with the support of projects like Backpack, Tensor, Phantom, Solflare, Magic Eden, and Drip. These projects may offer various bonuses and rewards to device owners, as mentioned by Rajat Gokal, co-founder of Solana Labs.

The motivation behind developing the new smartphone stemmed from the high demand for the previous version of Saga, even in the secondary market where prices exceeded $5000. The surge in interest can be attributed to airdropped BONK tokens. Interestingly, the smartphone itself was labeled as the worst of 2023, and Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, acknowledged initial sales had been lackluster. However, the unexpected success of the airdrop event has turned the tide in favor of Solana Mobile's latest offering.