Demand for the Chapter 2 is seemingly so excessive, Solana Cell hit its 7-day gross sales aim inside the first 24 hours, Raj Gokal, co-founder of Solana and president of Solana Labs, completely informed TechCrunch.
Within the first 24 hours after the telephone was introduced, Solana Cell noticed over 25,000 preorders, and by the 30-hour mark, it had 30,000 preorders, Gokal stated. At these numbers, this new gadget has already eclipsed 12 months value of gross sales of Solana’s first handset, Saga.
The brand new telephone may have comparable options as its predecessor: it’s based mostly on Android, has a built-in crypto pockets, a Seed Vault and a “dApp retailer” for decentralized crypto functions. It’s initially being provided at $450, lower than the $599 the Saga is bought for. Chapter 2 will ship within the first half of 2025, a Solana spokesperson stated.
“For builders, Solana Cell is creating an enormous alternative for crypto app groups seeking to incentivize their customers,” Gokal stated. “It offers them a concentrated distribution channel to die-hard, devoted customers. It permits them to do that with none prohibitive app retailer charges.”
Gokal added that the gadget represents what’s attainable with crypto, offering worth in incentivizing apps to customers.
Saga’s climb
Solana’s first smartphone didn’t see a lot demand when it was first launched in mid-2023 for $1,000. However the firm quickly lowered the value right down to $599 in gentle of weak demand. YouTuber Marques Brownlee even referred to as Saga the “Worst New Cellphone of 2023” and stated it was a “bust.”
Initially, it appeared the lackluster gross sales have been as a result of the telephone went unnoticed within the crowded smartphone market. However the crypto-savvy crowd’s ears perked up when dog-focused memecoin BONK’s decentralized software (dApp) introduced that it was offering 30 million BONK tokens to Saga house owners totally free. The Saga then bought out nearly in a single day.
On the time, 30 million BONK tokens have been value greater than the price of the telephone, so customers principally received the gadget (or the tokens, relying on the way you have a look at it) totally free. Earlier than then, Saga house owners acquired different crypto rewards, just like the mint for the Claynosaurz NFT assortment, however these promotions didn’t garner as a lot consideration. Following the BONK hype, although, different dApps started providing comparable rewards, which resulted in much more folks wanting to purchase the telephone to get their palms on its provided worth.
“Because the market rebounded in This autumn of final 12 months, the Saga bought out, with the massive majority of these gross sales happening over simply two days in December,” Gokal stated. “Since then, we’ve been inundated every day with 1000’s of requests for extra.”
Now, Solana is hoping to recreate the identical magic with Chapter 2. The Saga genesis token, the non-transferrable NFT that got here with each Saga and helped house owners redeem rewards, is not going to be out there to house owners of the brand new units, however the firm plans on “constructing on this expertise in Chapter 2,” in response to its FAQ.
“Giving again to the neighborhood has a snowball impact: As extra builders begin releasing crypto-incentivized apps to Solana Cell customers, we’ll see even better adoption,” Gokal stated. The Chapter 2 has launched with sponsors together with Backpack, Tensor, Phantom, Solflare, Magic Eden and Drip, which plan to reward house owners, he added.
“Chapter 2 is targeted on wider distribution, better accessibility, and makes use of learnings from the final two years to allow better flexibility for builders and customers,” Gokal stated.
The brand new gadget has “been within the works” for over a 12 months, Gokal stated, as the corporate wished to present “full freedom for crypto builders and customers,” by having no restrictions on tokens or NFTs, and no prohibitive charges.
