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Second Version of Solana’s Saga Phone Hits 30,000 Preorders in 30 Hours

10 months ago
Bitcoin Ethereum News
Second Version of Solana's Saga Phone Hits 30,000 Preorders in 30 Hours

 Key takeaways:

  • The new Saga phone has received an overwhelming 30,000 preorders in just the first 30 hours since reservations opened, dramatically outpacing sales of the original Saga.
  • Solana co-founder Raj Gokal has also confirmed they have already reached 30% of their goal of 100,000 preorders in less than 2 days, showing the massive demand.
  • The new Saga phone is priced much lower at $450, compared to $999 for the original.
  • The price of Solana’s SOL token has surged over 21% in the last month, reaching $94.25 as of January 19, 2024.

The hype about the new Solana phone is real

Solana Mobile, the company behind the crypto-focused Saga smartphone, has announced that the second version – dubbed “Chapter 2” – received 30,000 preorders just 30 hours after reservations were opened to the public.

Raj Gokal, the co-founder of Solana, has also confirmed this. “We outsold 1 year of saga sales in 24 hours. 30% toward the 100k goal in 30 hours,”  he posted on X. At the time of the post, the company had sold 30% of the 100,000 Solana Saga 2 sales goal.

According to our previous report, the original Saga phone launched in mid-2023 and integrated crypto and web3 capabilities like a dedicated crypto wallet, support for dApps and NFT marketplaces, and unique digital collectibles for owners. However, the $999 price tag limited adoption mostly to crypto power users.

Demand surged last December when the value of Bonk, a Solana meme coin, skyrocketed. Saga owners were eligible for a Bonk airdrop, so demand for the niche phone exploded almost instantly. The initial production run of 20,000 units sold out within a week. 

Riding this wave of demand, Solana Mobile has unveiled the second generation of the Saga phone. While full specifications haven’t been revealed yet, the company promises improved performance, design, and features compared to the first version. More importantly, the new Saga will retail for around $450 – less than half the price of its predecessor.

Some of the key upgrades include a larger 6.8″ OLED display, upgraded Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, 5G connectivity, and double the storage at 1TB. The phone is also expected to have better water resistance and faster charging capabilities. Crypto-related features like the secure crypto wallet and dApp support remain central to the experience. 

The lower price point and upgraded specs are intended to bring Solana’s capabilities to a broader audience. Preorders for the new Saga phone opened on January 18, 2024, with a $200 fully refundable deposit. Solana Mobile expects to begin shipping the device in Q2 2024.

In addition, like the original Saga, the new phone will come with a unique NFT called the Saga Genesis token, providing access to exclusive content, offers, and experiences.

Solana (SOL) Price Movement

Meanwhile, the price of Solana (SOL) has also been on the rise, as it increased by 21.57% in the last month and reached $94.25 as of today, January 19, 2024. 

Solana is currently the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a dominance of 2.48% and a market cap of around $40.7b billion. The token’s price prediction forecasts a further 0.65% to $94.22 increase in the next month, which would represent a bullish confirmation of the recent price action.

Source: https://coincodex.com/article/36832/second-version-of-solanas-saga-phone-hits-30000-preorders-in-30-hours/