Saga now available, ushers in new mobile web3 era

The mobile era of web3 begins now. Saga, the flagship, security-conscious, crypto-first Android device from Solana Mobile, is now available to customers who pre-ordered and will be available starting on May 8 for new orders.

Saga makes it easy and secure to self custody your own digital assets. Saga removes the friction associated with digital assets such as tokens and NFTs and simplifies the overall web3 experience thanks to Seed Vault, its secure, biometric-integrated custody solution.

Our team has been using Saga for months now along with hundreds of developers, and it truly does elevate what’s possible on web3. Saga is built for our mobile-first lifestyles, with a focus on safety and security. It changes how and when we transact. It changes our expectations of web3 dApps. It makes web3 fun in a whole new way.

Want to create an instant NFT from a picture you just took on your phone? You can do that on Saga. Want to manage your digital assets while out at night? You can do that on Saga. Want to pay your friends with crypto? You can do that on Saga. Saga is a gateway to new experiences not just on mobile, but for mobile.

Welcome to the future

Most crypto experiences today happen through the desktop, but people don’t live their lives tethered to a desktop. Additionally, while most popular web browsers have good blockchain support, accessing sites and transacting through browsers presents its own tradeoffs and challenges for users.

And if people do try to access the web3 world through their mobile devices, they have to rely on in-wallet web browsing for transacting, resulting in experiences that don’t take advantage of everything a mobile phone can do. The other path today is in-app wallet support, but there are security risks in trusting multiple apps to store your private keys. You should be the only one holding and interacting with your keys — not other apps.

When we started this journey over a year ago, we wanted to modernize how everyone interacts with their digital assets for the sake of usability and increased security. We knew the standards for usability would be high.

With that in mind, we knew we needed to start with an incredible phone, and that phone would need to be every bit as good as anything else on the market. The result is a sleek and beautifully designed flagship Android phone with premium components (Snapdragon® 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform, 12GB of RAM, 512GM of Flash, 6.67” OLED display, among others), available for $1,000 from the ultra-experienced team at OSOM.

Security designed for a mobile lifestyle

We also knew that we’d need to make major leaps in how people interact with their keys. Our goal was to allow you to take your keys with you — safely. But just having them with you isn’t enough. You want to be able to do something with your assets, not just look at them.

So we tightly integrated Saga with the Solana Mobile Stack, our set of technologies for mobile. Developers can use SMS APIs to enhance signing experiences while on the go and open up web3 experiences on the phone:

• Sign your transactions easily, quickly and securely thanks to Seed Vault, a secure custody protocol that protects your keys from malicious actors via secure biometrics and password entry, and hardware-supported encryption of your keys. You can finally feel safe taking your assets with you. Not even the Android OS has access.
• You can now use any web3 mobile app and those apps can easily handle transaction requests in ways optimized for web3, thanks to SMS’ Mobile Wallet Adapter.
• Finding dApps is easy thanks to the Solana dApp Store, a web3-focused delivery channel for dApps that is free of fees, and with policies friendly to the crypto space.

Discover new experiences in the Solana dApp Store

The Solana dApp Store is an app store that allows for the distribution of web3-native apps without the restrictive policies and high commission fees you find on other major web2 app marketplaces.

Sixteen decentralized apps debuted today on the Solana dApp Store representing a range of functionality spanning NFTs, DAOs, staking, and more. These apps are at the vanguard of creating new experiences in web3 for all of us — clean mobile-native designs, notifications so you never miss another mint, and access to cameras and sensors for immersive gaming experiences.

dApps that Saga holders can access now include: Audius, Dialect, Jupiter Aggregator, Ledger, Magic Eden, Mango Markets, Marinade, and Squads, among others.

We expect to see more dApps in the Solana dApp Store as demand grows for better usability that only mobile native dApps can provide.

A phone, and much more

Saga is available to ship now in the U.S., EU, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.

Availability will vary but Saga Pass holders will be prioritized for shipments and holders can complete their pre-order reservation here. New orders can be placed starting on May 8 and will start shipping in the following weeks.

Saga users will be able to claim a Saga genesis token NFT upon setting up their device.  The genesis token is a device-specific NFT and will form the basis of the rewards program for Saga users. Apps listed on the Solana dApp Store will be able to offer Saga user-only benefits and rewards based on ownership of the Saga genesis token.

Saga purchasers will also receive a Welcome Pack from Solana Mobile to get you started, as well as rewards from dApps, including the following items (subject to change):

Welcome Pack from Solana Mobile:

• 20 USDC to get you started
• 0.01 SOL to cover your first transaction fees on Solana
• Opportunity to mint a Clayno NFT from the new 2,000 piece “Claynosaurz: Call of Saga” collection (first come first served as pieces are released, supplies limited)

Provided directly from dApps in the Solana dApp Store to users:

• Magic Eden: Magic Box of 25 USDC (first 5,000 users)
• Audius: Exclusive music for Saga users
• Dialect: Saga-only sticker pack
• Genopets: Early access and free toy for Saga users
• Honeyland: 50 HXD and automatic Beemium upgrade (starting end of April 2023)
• Helium Mobile: One month of free access to Helium Mobile (starting June 2023 for users in the U.S.)

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