Launched in the second half of 2023, the Solana mobile has become an iconic product for the crypto industry and SOL investors. Early adopters have been rewarded with a series of airdrops far exceeding the initial value of the phones.
The company behind the product has announced a second iteration of mobile devices. Following the rise in popularity for the first model, the second seems poised to break sales records, according to a new report.
Rapid Sales Surge Surpasses Initial Projections
In the first hours of its pre-sale, the “Chapter 2” phone has set new sales records, far outpacing its predecessor, the Saga handset. TechCrunch reports that this affordable Web3 phone witnessed an overwhelming demand, achieving its seven-day sales target within just 24 hours after its announcement, as revealed by Raj Gokal, Co-founder of Solana.
Within the first day of its reveal, “Chapter 2” garnered over 25,000 preorders, which escalated to 30,000 by the 30-hour mark. These figures have notably eclipsed the 12-month sales volume of Solana’s first smartphone, Saga, signaling a significant shift in consumer interest towards more economically priced crypto-integrated smartphones.
Solana Mobile Fever: From Slow Star To Sudden Spike
Dramatic turns have marked Solana’s journey in the smartphone market. The Saga saw sluggish demand, initially priced at $1,000, prompting a price reduction to $599. Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee criticized it as the “worst new phone of 2023,” and its fate seemed sealed.
(embed)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRSMJGs0YMg(/embed)
However, a turnaround occurred when the dog-focused memecoin BONK announced the distribution of 30 million free BONK tokens to Saga owners. This move transformed the Saga into a sell-out success almost overnight.
The BONK token, a Shiba Inu-themed Solana token, surged by over 400% in a month, per CoinMarketCap data. The buzz around the Saga phone and BONK token peaked in December 2023, when phone owners discovered their eligibility to claim the hefty BONK token reward, valued at around $560.
Consequently, the Saga sold out its 20,000 units in the U.S. market, and its retail price in secondary markets rose to around $5,000, as BONK reached an all-time high. Solana (SOL), the cryptocurrency connected to the layer-1 blockchain that supports Saga and BONK, also saw a significant rise, climbing more than 21% over the same period.
This trend underlines the growing enthusiasm for Solana-based products, particularly in memecoins. The hype around these tokens was thought to be fading, but the high demand for the Solana mobile “Chapter 2” hints at further success for the product with potential bullish implications for the entire ecosystem.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview
