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Solana Mobile’s first crypto smartphone struggled to gain adoption at first, but the subsidiary of Solana Labs is pressing forward with another Android device after a dog-themed meme coin’s sudden rise turned the Saga into an overnight hit last year.
Solana Mobile showed off the Seeker last week at Token2049, a crypto conference in Singapore. It represented the public’s most comprehensive look at Saga’s successor since details surrounding a “cheaper,” crypto-forward smartphone were teased in January under the "Chapter 2" banner.
When it comes to Solana Mobile’s endeavors, the Solana Labs subsidiary is seeking to disrupt an industry dominated by tech names like Apple, Google, and Samsung. Still, the phone caters to crypto users, packing proprietary custody solutions for digital assets and decentralized apps (dapps). Here's what you need to know.
When and how much?
Seeker’s release is slated for mid-2025, but with 140,000 of the handsets already pre-ordered, according to Solana Mobile, picking up the phone might not be as easy as literally doing so.
The group stated that Seeker orders are limited to five phones per household, likely an attempt to limit the impact of would-be scalpers. On top of that, Solana Mobile has said in an FAQ page for the Seeker that the phone’s availability in different countries could change due to demand.
Regardless, one of the biggest differences between Saga and Seeker may be its starting price. The Saga debuted to little fanfare with a price tag of $1,000, and that price was later slashed to $599 just four months later. This time, Solana Mobile is striving for the opposite dynamic.
People were be able to pre-order the device for $450 during a "founder" window that ended on September 21, but that price has now increased to $500 during the “early adopter window.” A price for Seeker’s “supporter window” hasn’t been released yet, but it’s reasonable to expect that price will be higher.
In total, just 20,000 units of the Saga were produced. But the pre-order figure suggests that the smartphone will have a larger community of users incentivizing dapp development.
What are the specs?
Solana Mobile has revealed some of the specs for the Seeker, which is billed as being smaller and more pocketable than the original Saga.
In a post on Twitter (aka X), Solana Mobile stated that its new Android device will feature 128GB of storage along with 8GB of memory. That represents a pretty significant drop compared to the Saga’s 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM that gave it flagship muscle at the time, reflecting Seeker’s lower price tag.
Additionally, Solana Labs has not released details yet about what processor Seeker will have. The Saga, which was fully designed and had its specs locked in 2022, featured a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 processor that was powerful, yet slightly dated by the time of release the following year.
2/ So, what is Seeker?
It’s the definitive web3 mobile device, designed to harmonize hardware & software.
Lighter, brighter, with a better camera & longer battery at a more accessible price.
At its heart is the Seed Vault, designed for top-tier security — and it’s evolving. pic.twitter.com/xv4bGBfgCu
— Seeker | Solana Mobile (@solanamobile) September 19, 2024
But despite the lower price, Solana Mobile General Manager Emmett Hollyer told Decrypt that the processor will represent "a meaningful step up" from the Saga, due in part to the amount of time elapsed since the Saga was created.
The Seeker is also getting upgraded cameras. The Saga featured 50-megapixel and 12-megapixels sensors, but that’s been bumped up to 108-megapixel and 32-megapixel cameras. So, scanning QR codes while making transactions or connecting to dapps will be that much crisper. It will also have a new third camera sensor, but we haven't gotten details about that yet.
Based on renders released so far, the Seeker appears to feature a USB-C port, which has become standard across smartphone manufacturers. Additionally, Solana states the Seeker will have extended battery life, signaling an improvement over the Saga’s 4,110mAh cell that was accompanied by wireless charging.
The Seeker’s screen is slightly smaller than the Saga’s, shrinking from a 6.67” 1080p AMOLED display to a 6.36” AMOLED display. Hollyer said it will be "brighter" than the Saga's screen and that it will be a "flagship display." It looks like the Seeker will have thinner bezels than the Saga, too, giving it a more modern look compared to its predecessor.
The Seed Vault custody solution returns in the Seeker with a custom-designed software wallet created in collaboration with Solflare. And it has visible prominence on the Seeker, with Seed Vault branding that wraps around the back from what appears to be the side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Airdrop ‘magnet’
The Saga didn’t find many fans until the price of airdrops the phone could claim surged, exceeding its discounted sticker price. And Solana Mobile made clear that the airdrop trend is likely to follow, describing the device as a “magnet for dapps, DeFi, games, and more” on Twitter.
The phone’s maker described a soulbound token, which can’t be traded, as a “VIP pass” for claiming associated rewards. The token is being dubbed a Genesis NFT, much like that for the Saga, and Hollyer told Decrypt that rewards will be community-driven. But he also anticipates that developers will prioritize Seeker owners as a community for exclusive access and experiences.
“Of course, it will be a rewards magnet,” Hollyer told Decrypt, “but it also is going to open some one-of-a-kind experience doors that I think will be new to Seeker versus Saga.”
Solana Mobile has already shown off some other Seeker-only benefits. That includes a four-month subscription to the Helium Mobile wireless phone service, and “limited edition assets” for Parallel Studios' game Colony launching in Solana Mobile’s dedicated dapp store.
Edited by Andrew Hayward