Recently, the tech world buzzed with chatter about the Solana Saga, a smartphone that’s been making waves for all the wrong reasons. Marques Brownlee, a big name in tech reviews with a massive YouTube following of 18 million, took a deep dive into this year’s smartphones. His verdict? The Solana Saga is at the bottom of the list.
Brownlee, known for his critical eye on popular gadgets from giants like Apple and Microsoft, didn’t hold back. He acknowledged the Saga’s solid build and sleek design but quickly pointed out that its practical value is another story. In his view, purchasing the Solana Saga is a “terrible idea.”
What sets the Solana Saga apart is its unique blockchain technology integration, aimed at revolutionizing the experience for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and developers. This phone merges cutting-edge mobile tech with Solana’s blockchain features, promising an unprecedented level of functionality for the crypto world.
Solana Labs rolled out the Saga smartphone in April 2023, but the initial excitement soon fizzled out. To stimulate sales, the price was dropped to $599 after just a few months. However, the game changed in December. Sales skyrocketed thanks to a clever promotion involving BONK, a hot cryptocurrency on the Solana blockchain. Buyers received BONK tokens with their purchase, at times valuing more than the phone itself!
By mid-December, the Saga was sold out in the U.S. The soaring demand led to a resale frenzy, with some phones fetching as high as $5,000. The excitement stemmed from the distribution of 30 million BONK tokens, a meme coin that saw a staggering 305% growth over the last month. At present, it’s trading at around $0.00001797, per CoinMarketCap data.
Source: eBay
Hopefuls are snapping up the limited Saga phones, anticipating similar token giveaways like the Bonk Inu team’s previous airdrop. Yet, even with this hype, the tech community’s lackluster view of the phone’s hardware features means Apple’s reign in the smartphone market is unlikely to be challenged by the Saga anytime soon.
For those following cryptocurrency trends, Solana’s BONK recently saw a 30% rise, overtaking PEPE as the third-largest meme coin.
