Solana Slashes Saga Phone Price by 40% to $599, Aims to Drive Slowing Adoption

The Solana Saga, built on the Android platform, has undergone a notable price drop, decreasing from its initial iPhone-like price of $1,000 to a more affordable $599.

This announcement was made by Solana Mobile, a division of Solana Labs, through a Twitter post on a recent Wednesday. The company stated that this $400 reduction is a strategic move to encourage broader adoption of mobile web3 and enhance the overall experience for the Solana mobile community.

In April, we introduced Saga with a clear vision: to put web3 at your fingertips. We continue to work to bring more people into the eco and drive web3’s mobile future. Today, we are reducing the price of Saga to $599.

Over the past four months, Saga users embraced the… pic.twitter.com/qpC1BHiqZ7

— Solana Mobile 🌱 (@solanamobile) August 9, 2023

The team responsible for Solana Mobile also conveyed their satisfaction with the way users have enthusiastically embraced the mobile-centric approach in the last four months. This included the active participation of the audience through unique incentives, such as the Claynosaurz mint, which has been well-received.

However, the statistics present a slightly altered narrative. According to on-chain information aggregated by Flipside Crypto, the sales of the Solana Saga have experienced a significant decline compared to the peak levels seen in April and May.

This data specifically monitors the count of Saga Genesis NFT mints, which happens when users activate their Solana Saga phone and engage with the Solana app store.

As of July 25, there are just over 2,100 distinct owners of Saga Genesis NFTs. This indicates that approximately this number of Solana Sagas have been activated since the beginning of April.

Solana’s Uphill Battle to Recapture 2021’s Valuation

Anatoly Yakovenko, one of the co-founders and the CEO of Solana, unveiled Saga in June 2022. The defining characteristic of this smartphone was its incorporation of the Solana Mobile Stack (SMS), which established a mobile platform for Solana wallets and applications. This stack also integrated a “Secure Element” to oversee private keys, thereby bolstering the security of Web3 transactions.

The Saga mobile phone features impressive physical attributes, including a dual-camera comprising a 50MP primary camera and a 12MP ultrawide lens. Additionally, the device is equipped with a 16MP selfie camera.

Despite Solana’s challenges in regaining its peak valuation from 2021, the reduced price of the Saga aims to encourage broader adoption of Web3 technology. Presently, SOL remains nearly 90% below its record high of $260.

Mixed Sentiments: Community Response

Twitter users who claimed to have acquired the Solana Saga at its initial $1,000 cost expressed dissatisfaction with Solana’s choice, while others expressed approval for the price cut.

One user mentioned regretting their purchase, describing it as a “negative image” of the situation.

To do this without anything being given to those of us who paid full price to offset how much this burns is a terrible look. You guys are the worst; I highly regret buying this thing.

— ema.sol (@ThisHighUp) August 9, 2023

Among the responses to that tweet, several individuals contended that those who embrace new technology at the outset often bear a higher cost, referring specifically to the initial purchasers of the first 2,000 Solana Sagas.

This is such wonderful news! I’m so happy that Solana Mobile will be more accessible to more people! Congrats on the announcement @solanamobile 💖

— Amy Street💫 (@Iamamystreet) August 9, 2023

There were also arguments in favor of early phone owners, highlighting that they had the opportunity to mint exclusive Claynosaurz NFTs. These digital collectibles currently have a base price of approximately 33 SOL on Magic Eden, equivalent to over $800. This value surpasses the price gap of $400.