Solana Launches Crypto-Focused Smartphone Starting At $1,000: Will It Challenge Apple, Google?

Solana SOL/USD Labs has finally launched its much-awaited Saga, the first-ever cryptocurrency-focused smartphone that runs on the Android operating system. 

What Happened: The smartphone, which was announced in 2022, comes with premium components and a price tag of $1,000. It is available for pre-order starting next month.

With the launch of Saga, technology giants such as Apple and Google might have competition in the mobile phone market.

Saga is built by privacy-focused tech company, OSOM, and runs on a Snapdragon 8+ Gen mobile platform to provide users with lightning-fast processing speeds. It also features an integrated secure element called the “Seed Vault.” 

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This feature adds an extra layer of security to the user’s digital assets.

Saga phone comes equipped with a high-performance chip and boasts 512GB of storage, all housed beneath a 6.67" OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. The battery has a capacity of 4,110 mAh, ensuring that the phone can operate for extended periods without requiring a recharge.

Earlier in September 2022, Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, said that the idea of true digital ownership means the digital items have to be treated like physical ones, and this isn't something Apple or Google are built around.

"They're built around a rent-seeking model where all the content is owned by the creator and you as a user rent it. When you buy a video from Amazon, you don't actually own it; everyone realizes that you don't own it. So neither Google nor Apple want to really take on web3 because true digital asset ownership disrupts their business models, “Yakovenko had said.

Price Action: At the time of writing, SOL was trading at $25.30, up 5.41% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

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