Solana Mobile Silences Critics with Bold Reboot – Here’s What Changed
Solana Mobile just flipped the script. After taking heat for its first-gen device, the crypto-native phone maker roared back with hardware that actually delivers on Web3 promises.
The comeback play
No more half-baked 'crypto phone' gimmicks. The new Saga 2 packs serious specs—think seamless dApp switching, hardened security, and that sweet SOL payback for network participation. Early adopters burned by the first model are now scrambling for pre-orders.
Why it matters
This isn't just about hardware. Solana's betting big that mobile will drive the next wave of mainstream adoption—while Wall Street still thinks 'blockchain' means overpriced JPEGs. The revamped device could finally bridge the gap between DeFi degens and normal smartphone users.
One catch? The 'crypto discount' still costs more than an iPhone. Some things never change in Web3.
Photo taken with the Seeker. Source: Jack Kubinec
Like its predecessor, the Seeker comes with a built-in “seed vault,” which is basically a very secure way to store crypto wallet keys. The phone comes with a native wallet that’s integrated with the seed vault and can be fingerprint-protected, so a thief wouldn’t be able to access it (unless, of course, they stole your finger as well). The wallet has a stocks tab where non-US users can purchase xStocks, a new tokenized stock product on Solana.
The Seeker has the Google Play store and features the return of the Solana-native dApp Store. The dApp store has expanded notably from 2023, when it featured fewer than two dozen apps. Now the store has well over 100 apps, some of which are only available on the dApp store. Not all dApp Store apps are created equal — the now-defunct Mango Markets has a (seemingly non-functional) app listed, for instance — but Solana Mobile granted some of the best ones primary real estate as featured apps.
Caitlin Cook, who works in growth at one of these featured apps in Moonwalk, stressed that becoming a Seeker launch partner was not a paid partnership, and Solana wanted to organically spotlight the new consumer crypto app.
“In terms of the process, getting listed on the Solana dApp store was a light lift for us. Since we already had a live Android app, it only took a few quick tweaks. From what I’ve seen more broadly, the Solana Mobile team has done a great job encouraging teams to MOVE beyond browser-based UX and embrace mobile-native experiences in prep for the Seeker launch, and making the process for doing so smooth and painless,” Cook said.
One segment of Seeker buyers may receive the phone with disappointment, however, because after 24 hours of using the phone, crypto token airdrops have still yet to magically appear in my wallet. Airdrops — particularly of BONK tokens — were a major driver of what commercial success the Solana Saga did see, but a Core contributor at BONK confirmed to me that the memecoin project does not currently have any Saga-like airdrops planned for Seeker users.
The speculative saving grace for the Seeker may be the forthcoming SKR token, which Solana Mobile vaguely said will FLOW “directly to builders and users,” per a slide deck shared with Blockworks.
It’s unclear to me whether Solana Mobile will keep releasing phones after the Seeker, or if it will pivot its focus to onboarding more devices to its newly unveiled TEEPIN mobile architecture. But either way, Solana Mobile deserves credit for delivering a serious, grown-up smartphone. Put another way, I don’t see any unwelcome awards in the Seeker’s future.
- The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
- 0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.
- Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
- Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
- The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana.
- Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
