Co-founder of Layer 1 blockchain Solana Anatoly Yakovenko admitted in an interview with Laura Shin on “Unchained” that the sales of Solana Saga smartphones have been poor, while emphasizing the importance of reaching a user base of 25,000 to 50,000 to sustain the development of Solana phones.
Yakovenko stated, “We have to determine if there is a market for this smart wallet, like, is this a cheaper version, an iPhone user can use this as a secondary device. But we haven’t seen enough signs that confirm whether this product is attractive enough to sell 50,000 units.” He mentioned that this is the magical number that determines the success of the phone.
Yakovenko believes that “sales of 25,000 to 50,000 units are needed to make developers feel there is a solid user base and it’s necessary to develop applications.”
The Saga phone was officially launched in May this year and the price was lowered from $1,000 to $599 in August.
Yakovenko also pointed out that advancements in mobile interfaces, especially Progressive Web Apps and pass keys, have significantly narrowed the gap between specialized smartphones and regular smartphones. When discussing the future development plans for the Saga phone, he said:
Encrypted phones have been attempted by some companies in the past but have had limited success outside of followers. From Sirin Labs to HTC, these phone manufacturers have failed in the past to create encrypted-focused smartphones.
At the same time, Yakovenko admitted in the interview that he does not consider his Saga phone as his primary device, more like his NFT phone. He said:
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Related reports: “Solana phone Saga unboxing and testing: What are the differences between Web3 phones and other smartphones?” “Solana engineers deny claims of security issues with Saga phone: Not a security vulnerability”