It’s right here: Solana actually did make its personal Web3 smartphone, the Saga—and it’s rolling out now to individuals who pre-ordered, with new orders set to start Could 8.
Decrypt has had its fingers on the $1,000 Android flagship gadget for the previous week—and proper now, Solana Labs’ “moonshot” guess feels largely like a Web2 gadget with a splash (albeit a significant one) of Web3 integration. It’s a succesful, highly effective telephone with native, safe pockets performance that feels tight and intuitive, however with few obtainable apps plus some hitches alongside the way in which.
Much more so than traditional in Web3, utilizing the Saga at the moment appears like beta testing one thing with promise and potential. Which may be an intriguing premise for early adopters and die-hards, and a possible catalyst for builders, however probably a tricky promote for the common client—and Solana Labs is aware of it. However there’s rather a lot to love right here, even when it feels a bit early.
Construct and specs: polished and premium
As a longtime tech reviewer and somebody who at all times wields a top-end handset, certainly one of my key issues when evaluating a telephone is whether or not I may dwell with it on a day-to-day foundation. In different phrases, would I be completely satisfied carrying this factor in my pocket as I keep linked, snap images, work remotely, and stay perpetually on-line?
Fortunately, the Solana Saga meets that requirement. It is a premium Android flagship with a horny (however not overly flashy) design, constructed with sturdy supplies and packed to the gills with nearly all the pieces you’d want to speak, keep linked, and be entertained. Even with out the Web3 factor, this is able to be an excellent Android telephone.
At a look, the Saga is much less distinctive than the Samsung Galaxy S23 or latest iPhones, however little accents assist set it aside—the metallic inexperienced aspect buttons and rounded triangular titanium digital camera module on the again, particularly. The stainless-steel body and ceramic backing are good touches, too, even when the matte black rear end is a fingerprint and smudge magnet.
It’s an enormous boy, too—barely taller and heavier than my iPhone 14 Professional Max, with a brilliant 6.67” 1080p AMOLED display screen with a clean 120Hz show. Battery life is fairly sturdy and dependable right here with a beefy 4,110mAh cell, with wi-fi charging obtainable for comfort alongside a sooner wired USB-C connection.
The Saga is a lot quick and highly effective too, because of a flagship-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 processor paired with 12GB RAM, making it able to working video games and demanding apps with ease. That mentioned, it’s not the top-of-the-line chip: the Galaxy S23 and different new telephones run a Gen2 chip that delivers strong efficiency beneficial properties in benchmark testing.
You’re unlikely to note the distinction now, however the Saga could possibly be much less resilient than some 2023 rivals sooner or later as extra demanding apps and video games launch. On the upside, nonetheless, the Saga is filled with a sturdy 512GB of inner storage as normal—most telephones require an upcharge to get you that form of onboard storage.
The twin-camera setup, with a 50-megapixel principal shooter and 12MP ultrawide digital camera alongside, met my wants for informal on a regular basis snaps, delivering crisp particulars and punchy colours. Put aspect by aspect with the iPhone 14 Professional Max, nonetheless, Apple’s pictures have been routinely sharper, with extra pure colour stability.
Other than the Web3 parts, the Saga ships with a fortunately clear Android 13 construct—no clunky pores and skin, no bloatware junk—and the total suite of Google providers, together with the Play Retailer. And this 5G telephone works with all main U.S. carriers, so you’ll be able to take it the place you please.
Web3 on the go
That’s the usual, “Web2” aspect of the Solana Saga expertise—and should you plan to make use of it as an on a regular basis telephone, that’s actually crucial piece of the puzzle. But it surely’s the Web3 integration that units the Saga aside out of your typical smartphone, and the important thing purpose why anybody would take into account the Saga over a normal flagship.
The Saga’s Web3 providing is constructed across the Seed Vault, a local custody answer that secures your pockets’s seed phrase inside a safe atmosphere on the telephone. Even the Android working system doesn’t have entry, and it’s tied to your biometric signature by way of the rear fingerprint sensor.
That’s paired with a local retailer for decentralized apps (dapps), which has simply over a dozen dapps proper now however supplies a smoother, easier-to-use move than typical internet apps. Utilizing a pockets app like Phantom or Solflare, you’ll be able to signal Solana community transactions with a contact of the sensor, together with a faucet of the display screen and occasional PIN entry for good measure.
Establishing a pockets and getting began is comparatively simple right here because of a easy onboarding course of, and inside minutes, I used to be swapping USDC for Solana (SOL) by way of the Jupiter swap aggregator dapp and shopping for NFTs by way of the Tiexo market. I took a photograph amid the mayhem of Occasions Sq. after which instantly minted it as an NFT by way of the Minty Contemporary dapp.
(Be aware: As with early client items, our Solana Saga overview loaner got here with $20 value of USDC and 0.01 SOL—about $0.25 value—for community charges. Decrypt will return the telephone and all unused funds, together with any bought or minted property included, to Solana Labs.)
Wallets can be utilized to hook up with web-based Web3 apps, as effectively, by way of Solana’s cellular pockets adapter (MWA) know-how. For instance, the native Magic Eden dapp isn’t but within the Saga dapp retailer as of this writing, however I linked to the online model of {the marketplace} and purchased an NFT by way of Phantom and my fingerprint.
However there are some stumbles alongside the way in which. The native Audius streaming music dapp wouldn’t connect with my Solana mainnet pockets, and as an alternative tried to attach by way of devnet. A social app (urFeed) merely wouldn’t obtain from the dapp retailer for days regardless of what number of occasions I tapped the button. And the MWA hyperlink didn’t at all times work, akin to once I tried to attach my pockets to the Aurory sport’s web site… and nothing occurred.
And broadly, whereas the important core items are right here to ship and obtain funds, mint and transact NFTs, and swap crypto funds, I used to be actually hoping for extra entertaining and engrossing Web3 experiences that actually utilized the tech.
Solana has a rising gaming scene, for instance, however the dapp retailer at the moment has no playable titles. And the web-based Solana video games that I attempted didn’t work—shooter Mini Royale: Nations refused to load, and Aurory wouldn’t connect with my pockets. A Solana Labs rep informed Decrypt that “just a few video games” are within the works for Saga and “coming quickly,” nonetheless.
For early adopters
Regardless of the bugs and hitches, transacting with crypto and NFTs on the Solana Saga feels extra intuitive than utilizing a web-based pockets. Dealing with crypto property on cellular is usually a fraught and irritating expertise, however the Saga’s UX is undoubtedly a step ahead—and at this level, finest described as a place to begin for Solana’s cellular ambitions.
Solana Labs’ guess on cellular is admirable: it’s an try and domesticate a decentralized cellular ecosystem that isn’t reliant on huge tech juggernauts like Apple and Google and their 30% lower of app gross sales, which not solely impacts builders however has stymied cellular Web3 adoption.
It’s an enormous swing, but in addition an enormous danger—and a probably costly one for Solana Labs if the Saga doesn’t discover a big sufficient viewers to help the cellular dapp ecosystem. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has beforehand described the Saga as a “developer play” and mentioned he’d be “very completely satisfied” to promote tens of 1000’s of items within the first 12 months.
That stage of gross sales wouldn’t transfer the needle for a Web2 tech large, but when it prompts builders to construct cellular dapps and embrace the platform, then maybe it’ll result in extra reasonably priced Saga successors focused at a broader viewers—with extra compelling causes to purchase in.
Solana Saga: Verdict
A $1,000 smartphone definitely isn’t for everybody; neither is the Saga’s emphasis on Web3 use instances. However amongst its peer group of pricey smartphones, the Saga is a reasonably sharp providing—and its Solana integration is an thrilling and promising twist that might finally repay for customers as a cellular hub for decentralized apps and providers. However that’s an open query for now.