Future of Solana's Hyped Saga Phone Is 'Under Internal Discussion' as Sales Figures Fail to Wow

Solana's Saga Phone has an uncertain future because of disappointing sales and changing market dynamics, Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko said during a recent appearance on Laura Shin's Unchained podcast.

“We have to decide if there’s a place for a smart wallet, a much cheaper version that an iPhone user could use as a secondary device. We haven’t seen a ton of signal whether that’s a compelling enough thing to sell 50,000 units,” he said, saying that this was the magic number to determine the success of the phone.

"I think 25,000 to 50,000 units to feel like there is a hardcore user base for developers to be compelled to ship applications," he continued.

The phone first went on sale earlier this year, and in August, its price was cut to $599 from $1000.

Yakovenko noted during the interview that advancements in mobile interfaces, particularly Progressive Web Apps and pass keys, have significantly reduced the gap between specialized and regular smartphones.

"Progressive Web Apps bypass the App Store so developers don't need to pay the fees. They kind of have that side-loading feature even on iOS now," he continued.

Crypto phones have been previously tried by some companies but have seen limited success outside of their cult followers. Phone maker names from the big – HTC – to the small – Sirin Labs have previously failed in their efforts to create a crypto-forward smartphone.

Meanwhile, Yakovenko also said that he doesn't use his Solana Saga phone as his primary device.

"I flip between this one and my iPhone because I've got too many business apps and stuff and connections," he said. "So it's hard for me to support all the security certificates and stuff like that are kind of hooked up to my iPhone."

The Saga phone is "my NFT phone," he continued.

Solana's SOL token is up over 500% year-to-date, according to on-chain data.