Solana Labs has recently announced the launch of its latest smartphone, the Saga. The Saga phone will be available for pre-order in May and is priced at approximately $1,000 or IDR 14.7 million.
Solana Mobile claims that Saga will be the first crypto smartphone built on the Android operating system (OS). This Web3 phone is unique in that it features blockchain technology integration and the ability to access decentralized applications and services without third-party involvement.
In addition, this Web3 phone also has a crypto wallet for storing, sending, and receiving digital assets, a feature that regular phones lack.
Security Features
Saga's security features are integrated into the Seed Vault OSOM device. Seed Vault OSOM is a solution for protecting ownership rights of crypto wallets through a rigorous security mechanism.
This application is designed to maintain user security and privacy uniquely, to the extent that even the Android operating system cannot access it.
Seed Vault OSOM is paired with a decentralized application store (DApps) that provides over 12 applications.
To sign Solana network transactions, users can use wallet applications such as Phantom or Solflare with fingerprint sensors, screen taps, and occasional PIN entries.
General Specifications
Saga phone is also equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen processor security feature with high-speed data processing and multitasking capabilities for running heavy applications.
In addition, Snapdragon 8+ also offers 5G connectivity and stronger security features.
The screen type used is a 6.67-inch AMOLED with a bright and responsive 1080p resolution. The refresh rate is 120Hz.
Saga phone has a 50-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. The internal storage provided is also very large, at 512GB.
The phone battery has a capacity of 4,110mAh and is charged using a USB Type-C cable.
User Experience
According to Decrypt's review, the use of Web3 technology still feels like a beta test phase on the Saga phone. However, Web3 integration on the device has a significant impact on users.
The use of Saga phone is relatively easy and efficient. Users can exchange crypto assets like USDC with Solana (SOL) within minutes through DApp applications like Jupiter.
Developers are expected to optimize the technology that supports users in making transfers, receiving payments, and managing and transacting NFTs.
So far, users can take pictures and turn them into NFTs through the Minty Fresh app. However, not everything goes smoothly on the Saga phone.
For example, the Audius platform used for music streaming cannot connect to the Solana mainnet wallet and instead tries to connect via devnet.
The social app urFeed also cannot be downloaded from the DApp store for several days even though the button has been pressed repeatedly.
In addition, MWA links do not always work, such as when trying to connect a wallet to the Aurory game website, but nothing happens.
