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Solana Saga, the Web3 cell phone
Solana launched its Web3 cell phone, the primary of its type, in April 2023. The cellphone packs all the standard functionalities customers have come to count on from a smartphone and tops it up with a Web3 expertise. It features a decentralized utility (DApp) retailer and seamless integration throughout crypto wallets and DApps. Saga has been tagged because the cellphone “that retains on giving.”
The cellphone has been on pre-order for a number of months, and those that pre-ordered loved airdrops just like the “Saga Cross.” Holders of the Saga Cross additionally obtained a number of artwork airdrops within the type of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) main as much as the April launch. On April 13, 2023, Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, went on stage to announce the launch of the cellphone and its options.
First reactions
The cellphone arrived a number of weeks late for European customers attributable to provide chain challenges. Even when American customers began receiving their telephones in April, it took Could for these throughout the Atlantic to get theirs.
The cellphone has a superb kind issue that’s not too totally different from an iPhone. The inexperienced buttons, ceramic backing and stainless-steel body make it really feel like a mainstream cellphone. The cellphone runs on Android OS and is manufactured by OSOM, which offered it alongside the Solana co-founder on the launch occasion.
The cellphone packs a bunch of {hardware} parts. It has a 6.67-inch, 1080p decision AMOLED display and a 120Hz show. The processor used is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 with 12 gigabytes of RAM. The cellphone additionally comes with 512GB of storage, which isn’t quite common with smartphones. The cellphone lasts longer than a typical iPhone 14 Professional with a 4,110-mAh battery.
There may be additionally a fingerprint sensor on the again of the cellphone, which feels ergonomically intuitive for customers. The digital camera takes good footage, though an goal evaluation of the way it compares with an iPhone or Samsung digital camera is past the scope of this text. The sound high quality of the in-built audio system may very well be higher.
Establishing and software program
The cellphone setup is fairly fast. The setup course of consists of making a Solana pockets and a seed vault the place the seed phrase is saved. Customers can then depend on their fingerprints (biometrics) to unlock their wallets and signal transactions. The seed vault is a basic characteristic that units it up for the Web3 expertise.
The cellphone works like another Android cellphone, and due to this fact, the fundamental setup isn’t any totally different from that of a standard Android cellphone.
However it additionally comes with a Solana-powered DApp retailer. The app retailer supplies us entry to various DApps on the Solana community throughout video games, NFTs, decentralized finance (DeFi) and social classes. When the cellphone was launched, there have been not more than a dozen apps. However by means of April and Could 2023, extra apps have been shipped, and the app retailer now has over 25 apps.
The setup of the Phantom pockets, which is usually used on the Solana community, is kind of seamless and easy. Nevertheless, some customers have had bother downloading different functions onto the cellphone. Via April and Could 2023, the DApp retailer had a number of updates, which appear to have fastened these points.
Some Saga experiences
The Saga brings the Solana consumer expertise to life by offering unique entry to a number of DApps. To start out with, Saga customers obtain a genesis token, which helps the Solana DApps ecosystem determine loyal customers and reward them over time.
On the sensible aspect, transactions utilizing the Phantom pockets to swap USD Coin (USDC) for Solana (SOL) have been fairly seamless utilizing the fingerprint sensor. For as soon as, a crypto transaction seems like a fintech contactless fee — mechanical and senseless.
Different key functions value mentioning are Dialect, a Web3 messaging app utilizing NFT stickers. Solana’s compressed NFT know-how makes minting an NFT extraordinarily cost-efficient. The Dialect app additionally gamifies collections of NFT stickers that may be then utilized in messages.
The Mintify app connects to the consumer’s images and permits minting them with out a fuss. The app connects with the Phantom pockets to cost a charge in SOL (about 0.01 SOL per mint). As soon as the consumer approves the mint, it occurs immediately, with footage uploaded on-chain and an tackle offered instantly.
A number of the DApps that have been largely web-based for all customers have proven up on the Saga app retailer. Squads, a multisig pockets on Solana, is an instance. They could have held again their cell launch for the Saga launch.
This can be an indication of issues to come back as Web3 apps present allegiance to their dad or mum chain’s ecosystem infrastructure. Nevertheless, that may additionally restrict their distribution capabilities and limit them to a restricted consumer base.
Aside from these built-in and unique consumer experiences, the Solana Cellular workforce has additionally introduced significant airdrops. As an example, Claynosaurz, one of many prime NFT communities by market capitalization on Solana, is doing an airdrop for customers who pre-ordered the cellphone.
Different Web3 apps work seamlessly, too. Saga depends on the Android ecosystem to assist different Web3 functions. Nevertheless, they don’t supply the identical built-in expertise that Saga DApps can supply.
Can Solana Saga be improved?
The Saga prices $1,000 apiece, and that could be a massive ask from a liquidity-drained Web3 consumer on the depths of a bear market. It’s typically the Solana-loyalists, liquidity-rich and Solana-curious who usually go for this innovation.
Whereas the fingerprint sensor is helpful and intuitive, it nonetheless shouldn’t be the identical as facial recognition, which is probably a extra intuitive and instantaneous expertise. Saga additionally doesn’t assist e-Sims. For customers who journey incessantly and might have to make use of two or three cell numbers on one cellphone, e-Sims are fairly useful.
The DApp retailer expertise has obtained combined suggestions attributable to technical glitches. One of many key sectors that’s anticipated to carry 1 billion customers onboard to Web3 is gaming. The DApp retailer solely has three video games as of Could 26, 2023. Regardless of all these glitches, it’s a promising begin to a much-needed growth within the trade.
What lies forward for the Solana Saga?
Will Saga beat the iPhone or Android anytime quickly? Extremely unlikely. That is an experiment to offer a selected consumer expertise and its advantages to the transformed (native Web3/Solana customers). For others, it’s only a glimpse into the long run.
Whereas some could name it sheer coincidence, Apple’s approval of Uniswap, Axie Infinity and in-app gross sales on StepN are all indicators that the Saga is influencing a number of the macro traits within the trade.
The Apple tax of 30% remains to be a drain on creators’ income; nevertheless, that could be a future tweak that may come when Apple’s fingers are compelled. Till then, Saga customers might be the guinea pigs for maybe an underrated Web3 experiment.
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