The Saga “Chapter 2” smartphone from Solana Labs is a sequel to the cryptocurrency-focused Solana Saga phone from the previous year. The first edition retailed for $999, while the Chapter 2 version will ship in 2025 for a more reasonable $450 preorder price. It happens after the first 20,000 Solana Saga phone production run ran out in December, mostly due to demand for the tokens that owners were given.
The Chapter 2 phone is positioned as an Android gadget designed especially for the Solana blockchain and environment, much like the original Solana Saga. It will come with an integrated cryptocurrency wallet that is tailored for Solana, enabling users to exchange, send, and receive SOL and SPL tokens. Additionally, decentralized apps (dapps) built on Solana will be accessible through the phone.
1/ Almost overnight, Solana Mobile’s Saga became the most rewarding experience on a phone, ever, and sold out.
You know that story. Now it’s time for the next part of the epic.https://t.co/nYR9apGGIT
Preorder #Chapter2 & spread the word to maximize your chance at rewards🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/tYZCBLWwHK
— Solana Mobile 🌱 (@solanamobile) January 16, 2024
The first Solana Saga sold out following months of dwindling demand. Four months after the phone’s April 2023 introduction, Solana Labs lowered its pricing from $999 to $599, indicating that the cryptocurrency community would take some time to adopt the device. But in December, demand surged in tandem with the value of the most popular Solana meme token, BONK. Thirty million BONK tokens, which at their peak were valued over $1,000—more than the phone itself—were airdropped to Saga owners.
A surge of interest in becoming members of the elite club of Saga owners was sparked by this BONK craze. Opportunists hoping to profit from upcoming token airdrops and other benefits provided to holders of the Saga Genesis NFT generated during setup have started selling phones on eBay for thousands of dollars. On secondary markets, an NFT airdrop from January is already selling for more over $1,000.
The first run of Solana Saga is completely sold out due to token craze and the fact that supplies are restricted. The Solana faithful who missed out on the first wave of the Saga have become enamored with it, even if the Chapter 2 phone is not anticipated until 2025.
To date, Solana Labs has not disclosed many details on the Saga Chapter 2 phone itself, such as hardware specs, real design, or quantity available. Preorder pricing of $450 is less expensive than the flagship-level internals of the original, indicating more limited specs. However, Solana integration will probably remain the main focus, for both the management of cryptocurrency assets and the use of the blockchain’s dapp ecosystem.
Following the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, the announcement of Chapter 2 was made. Anatoly Yakovenko, a co-founder of Solana Labs, spoke at WEF events on cryptocurrencies and the continued challenges that the FTX exchange is facing.
Even though Solana usage and token price suffered during the 2022 crypto winter, the project’s most devoted supporters’ interest in the Saga indicates that they continue to have faith in Solana’s long-term sustainability.
However, the original phone’s unexpected sale offers a potential course of action: get the hardware into the hands of devoted users, carry on offering worthwhile token drops and benefits, and let the most optimistic supporters of cryptocurrency to fuel grassroots enthusiasm through speculation and scarcity.
