Solana developers Solana Labs has now bagged $45 million to further its plan to build the Saga 2 smartphone after reaching its set of 100,000 preorders, it stated on Monday. Having met its target, the network will fully commit to its plans to distribute the first set of the highly sought-after phone by the first half of 2025.
The Saga 2 smartphone has seen a massive influx of orders, hitting over 100,000 orders within one month of presale opening. The smartphone’s main attraction is the replica of the features of the first version, which saw owners claim airdrops worth far more than the amount spent to acquire the device.
After a slow start, the first Saga smartphone sold out after the BONK airdrop drove demand, selling off in America first, then around Europe. The demand for the device saw Solana still having many requests even after selling off, prompting the network to refund customers.
Better Conditions for Saga 2
Speaking on the situation of the Sage chapter 2 device, Solana’s co-founder, Anatoly Yakovenko, stated that the development had better financing than the first version.
“There’s a minimum cost to get a new line going. With at least 100,000 customers for chapter 2 having already paid $450, the economics for selling an affordable second device are more viable than the brutal numbers that backed Solana’s experimental first phone, which originally retailed for $1,000,” Yakovenko said.
Saga struggled to hit the ground running on its first Saga phone after producing them in mid-2022. By late 2023, Solana had sold only 2,500 units of the device and was on course to become one of the worst-selling mobile phones of the year. Hence, the high cost of production and poor demand placed the network in a place it had never imagined when it produced the phone.
Saga to Compete Apple?
Yakovenko stated that amidst the demand, Saga Phone might find it challenging to beat Apple and Google on some smartphone features; hence, the network is focused on getting technological aspects related to blockchain right.
“It’s really tough to beat Apple and Google on camera and other tech specs their leading smartphones boast. That’s why we really care about the crypto-specific features. We are trying to build something that you can’t get on another device,” he said.
