Cryptocurrency smartphone Solana Saga may be discontinued

Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko said that Saga Phone has an uncertain future due to disappointing sales and changing market dynamics. The Ukrainian-born developer spoke about this in Laura Shin’s Unchained podcast.

«We have to decide whether there is a place for a smartwallet, a much cheaper version that an iPhone user could use as an additional device. We haven’t seen any signal that it’s a compelling enough thing to sell 50,000 units,» Yakovenko said, noting that this number is «the magic number to determine the success of the phone.»

«I think that 25,000 to 50,000 units to feel that there is a large user base will make developers create applications,» the developer continued.

As a reminder, Solana Saga smartphone first went on sale earlier this year, and in August its price was reduced from $ 1000 to $ 599.

During the interview, Yakovenko also noted that the development of mobile interfaces, including progressive web applications and access keys, has significantly narrowed the gap between specialized and ordinary smartphones.

«Progressive web apps bypass the App Store, so developers don’t have to pay for them. This side-loading feature is now available even on iOS,» he emphasized.

Yakovenko added that he doesn’t use his Solana Saga phone as his primary device: «I switch between it and my iPhone because I have too many business apps and connections. That’s why it’s hard for me to keep up with all the security certifications and things like that that are tied to my iPhone.»

As a reminder, on November 15, cybersecurity experts announced the discovery of a «critical vulnerability «in the Solana Saga crypto smartphone. The company unlocked the device’s bootloader using a backdoor, which allowed them to gain access to the device’s data. In turn, Solana developers deny any problems in their gadgets.