Solana’s new phone preorders crush Saga’s first-year sales in a day

Solana Mobile’s new web3 smartphone is seeing immense demand, with pre-orders for its “Chapter 2” device surpassing its first phone’s sales in its first year within the first day, according to TechCrunch citing Solana’s co-founder, Raj Gokal.

Pre-orders opened shortly after, and within 24 hours, Solana received over 25,000 pre-orders. By the 30-hour mark, pre-orders had reached 30,000 units. In contrast, Solana’s first web3 phone, Saga, sold less than 2,500 units in its first year since launching in mid-2023.

Gokal emphasized the opportunity for developers to reach a dedicated user base without the burden of app store fees. He also highlighted the potential for crypto to add value and incentivize app usage. With ‘Chapter 2,’ Solana Mobile is focusing on broader distribution, greater accessibility, and providing more flexibility for both developers and users.

“For developers, Solana Mobile is creating a massive opportunity for crypto app teams looking to incentivize their users. It gives them a concentrated distribution channel to die-hard, dedicated users. It allows them to do this without any prohibitive app store fees,” Gokal said.

Solana Mobile prepares to ship its new Chapter 2 phone in the first half of 2025.

The Chapter 2 phone was announced earlier this week with a cheaper $450 price tag, compared to the initial $1,000 price of the Solana Saga phone. Solana ultimately reduced the Saga’s price to $599, but sales remained slow for most of 2023.

It wasn’t until the dog-themed memecoin BONK announced that Saga owners would receive 30 million BONK tokens for free that demand suddenly surged. The arbitrage opportunity led to Saga’s limited stock of 20,000 phones quickly selling out, even with some orders being canceled and refunded due to inventory issues.

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