Last month, Solana Mobile made headlines when its flagship web3 smartphone, the Saga, completely sold out. The success continued last week as the company’s second phone garnered over 40,000 preorders in less than a week. However, the journey to success has not been without its challenges.
Key Takeaway
Solana Mobile’s recent success with the Saga smartphone and the overwhelming preorders for its second phone demonstrate the company’s potential for growth in the web3 mobile phone market. Despite initial challenges, the company remains optimistic about its future prospects.
Seizing the Opportunity
According to Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, the success of the Saga smartphone presented a significant opportunity for the company. The timing seemed just right, leading to the recent launch of their second phone, which has already shown promising results. Yakovenko also hinted at the possibility of a third phone in the future, indicating the company’s ambitious plans for expansion in the web3 mobile phone market.
Overcoming Obstacles
Despite recent achievements, Solana Mobile faced hurdles on its path to success. The initial launch of the Saga handset in mid-2023 at a price of $1,000 did not yield the expected demand, leading to a subsequent price reduction to $599. However, the tides turned when crypto users discovered that owning a Saga phone entitled them to 30 million tokens of the dog-themed memecoin BONK through a decentralized app (dApp). This unexpected development led to a rapid sell-out of the Saga smartphones.
Yakovenko reflected on the challenging times, stating, “I think crypto was going through a hard bear market, and the Solana ecosystem was feeling the worst of it. We were looking for more devs to go to launch and I would say [we were] kind of in survival mode because during that chasm of despair you just need to survive until something like macro [turns the market] around.”
