Back on the 24th June 2022 Solana announced they will “change everything” with their new Solana Mobile Stack SDK and a new hardware mobile phone called Saga. Let’s dig into to what information was released and how this could propel Web3 adoption forward!
How Solana Mobile Will Bring Self-Custody to the Masses
The current solution for secure hardware self-custody is not practical. It involves plugging a USB stick into a laptop in order to sign a transaction. The amount of people who have secure hardware wallets is clearly not enough for mass adoption. There have been phone apps created to store crypto but this isn’t as secure as a dedicated secure crypto enclave.
Enter the Solana Mobile Stack SDK and the Solana Saga mobile phone. Due to the inaction of mobile IOS heavyweights like Apple and Google we still have restrictive app store policies and no dedicate hardware wallets built into mainstream mobile phones.
It’s time for crypto to go mobile… It’s time for the secure, biometric-integrated custody solutions we’ve been dreaming of, that have somehow failed to materialize on the roadmaps of the mobile giants. It’s time for an app store governed by users and developers, with no restrictions on tokens or NFTs, allowing for web3-native distribution models that could never be possible in the App Store and Google Play.
Anatoly Yakovenko
The Solana Mobile Stack (SMS) will help distribute native Android Web 3 Apps for Solana via the new Solana dApp Store. SMS includes a secure custody protocol called Seed Vault that enables “instant signing of transactions while keeping private keys partitioned from wallets, apps and the Android OS. It also includes a Mobile Wallet Adapter and integrated Solana Pay payments capabilities.
The Solana Mobile Stack SDK
Initial features of the Solana Mobile Stack SDK include:
- Mobile Wallet Adapter: A protocol for connecting web apps and native Android apps to wallets on mobile devices. The open source protocol is designed to support all mobile platforms, not just Android, and can work with wallet apps providing signing services to apps running remotely, such as other mobile devices, and on desktop or laptop computers.
- Seed Vault: A secure environment built into a mobile device that keeps private keys, seed phrases and secrets separated from the application layer yet still capable of interacting with apps running on the device or in a mobile browser. Seed Vault accesses the highest privileged security environment available on a device, from secure operating modes of the processor to dedicated Secure Elements, which enables a secure transaction signing experience through UI components built into Android.
- Solana Pay for Android: Solana Pay, a decentralized payments rail on Solana, is built into Solana Mobile Stack, providing wallet apps the ability to use the system features of Android devices to capture Solana Pay URLs via QR codes, NFC taps, messages, and web browser interactions to launch Solana Pay requests. In addition, instant virtual card issuance will allow users to make contactless-based mobile payments backed by their self-custodied funds via traditional payment rails at tens of millions of merchants across the globe.
Check out the Solana Mobile Stack SDK Github Repo here: https://github.com/solana-mobile/solana-mobile-stack-sdk
What Cool Shit will the New Solana Phone Enable?
One of the unique things that the new Solana Mobile phone will bring is the Saga Pass, which is a special NFT that comes with the first release of Saga devices that will allow for participation in community governance of the Solana Mobile Stack platform.
The opportunity right now is to build features and experiences that take advantage of a smoother ability to do web3 transactions on mobile, to carry digital assets around anywhere (and how that unlocks new use cases), and an ability to tie mobile payments capabilities to web3 payments rails to eliminate intermediaries.
Anatoly Yakovenko
The Solana dApp Store is really where the value will be brought to the table by innovate dApp developers. This new distribution channel will allow dApp developers and direct relationship with end customers without intermediary platform fees or cumbersome app store policies.
The Solana Mobile Stack + Solana dApp Store unlocks the following potential opportunities:
- Minting an NFT anywhere, anytime is now a reality because secure transactions on a phone can be easily authorized thanks to the secure partition between a user’s keys and the software and hardware levels of a phone.
- Individuals can transact for goods and services with their securely held digital assets across millions of traditional contactless terminals as well as the growing decentralized Solana Pay payments network.
- Play web3 games on Solana from anywhere, and keep funds safe and secure with Seed Vault.
- Users can now manage trading risk while on the go more easily and effectively thanks to an improved user experience possible with native DeFi dApps.
- Consumers can participate in token-gated mobile commerce experiences based on their digital assets and the secure communications between a wallet, Seed Vault, and a dApp.
- Creators and developers can establish direct relationships with users through their dApps without intermediaries collecting data and extracting fees thanks to the distribution of the Solana dApp Store.
Source – Solana Mobile Stack Reveal
Who are the Initial Supporters of the Solana Mobile Ecosystem?
The Solana ecosystem have put their hands up to support the Solana Mobile release, including FTX, Kiyomi/OpenEra, Magic Eden, Okay Bears, Orca, Phantom, StepN, Coral and more.
- Coral co-founder Armani Ferrante: “Coral is a next-gen wallet where you can dynamically bring together and manage all of your digital assets, and now, by integrating with Solana Mobile Stack, we’re enabling developers to build mobile-first experiences and, by releasing through the dapp store, we’ll get to directly connect xNFTs to users, and run xNFTs on mobile.”
- Kiyomi / OpenEra co-founder Irvin Cardenas: “NFTs will become an integral part of our lives. In order for Web3 to reach the mainstream, we need to enable digital assets such as NFTs to be used in our daily lives with our mobile devices in ways that are more seamless, interactive, and engaging. But, most importantly, in ways that neither compromise on security nor bend to traditional intermediary business models. Solana Mobile Stack and especially Seed Vault shows not only that this is possible but also that this is a reality today.”
- Magic Eden CEO and co-founder Jack Lu: “We want to create the best mobile experiences for our users and are delighted that Solana’s mobile stack will unlock new potential use cases. NFTs are becoming increasingly immersive—people talk about them and showcase them in their real lives. Interacting with NFTs should not occur in a vacuum on a laptop. The future is mobile. We’re excited to support Solana’s project with our Android app.”
- Okay Bears co-founder Kais: “Our Okay Bears community connects many hearts across the planet each day. Our members are incredibly diverse, and so are the devices they use. When designing our new products, we worked with Ikonick and Shopify to ensure a beautiful token-gated experience for all of our holders. We’re excited about the Solana Mobile Stack, and its potential to help grow our Okay Bears message.”
- Orca co-founder Grace “Ori” Kwan: “Orca aims to be the most user-friendly trading experience in DeFi, and we see a huge opportunity to extend that to a new generation of users through mobile. The Solana Mobile stack, including the Seed Vault and Mobile Wallet Adapter, offers the speed, security, and responsiveness needed to make that dream a reality.”
- Phantom CEO and co-founder Brandon Millman: “As the leading web3 wallet on Solana, we prioritize creating clean, simple, and secure transaction flows. Solana Mobile Stack represents a big advancement for seed management and native transaction signing, both of which elevate the user experience on mobile.”
- StepN Chief Revenue Officer Mable Jiang: “Saga will enable a more open experience for users to interact with StepN from different non-custodial wallets. With Saga, our users could choose whichever frontend they want to trade on very seamlessly. Further, we’re excited about creating new opportunities for our users with a richer mobile native experience made possible with Solana Mobile Stack.”
Source – Solana Mobile Stack Reveal
Watch the Solana Mobile Launch Event Here!
“Almost 7 billion people use smartphones around the world and more than 100 million people hold digital assets – and both of those numbers will continue to grow,” said Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, the world’s most performant blockchain. “Saga sets a new standard for the web3 experience on mobile.”
Anatoly Yakovenko
What Hardware is the Saga Phone and Who Made It?
An interesting fact about the origins of the Saga name was mentioned by Raj Gokal, co-founder of Solana during the Saga Launch, “We chose the Saga name because the story of crypto is still being written”. The design and manufacturing was completed by OSOM, leading Android development company with team experience in building hardware for the top tier technology industry including Google, Intel and Apple.
“Saga starts from first principles to create a mobile experience for individuals, developers, and ecosystem participants that opens a new era of mobility… The world needs novel hardware to embrace the future that is web3, and building out an ecosystem that looks to the future without being burdened by past legacy ecosystems is hugely exciting for us.”
Jason Keats, co-founder and CEO of OSOM
Key stats for the phone hardware include:
- Saga includes a 6.67″ OLED display
- 12 GB RAM
- 512 GB storage
- Snapdragon® 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform chipset
- A Secure Element (similar to Apple’s Secure Enclave)
Wanna Be a Builder? Solana have Grants available!
Solana Foundation also announced with the reveal a $10 million ecosystem development grants for developers building on Solana Mobile Stack. The grants are aimed to help jump start Web3 on Mobile!
You can apply for a grant at the Solana Mobile Website.
How to Buy the Solana Saga Mobile Phone?
Pre-orders are open now at the Solana Mobile Website for a $100 fully refundable deposit, with total cost expected to be $1000 USD shipping in early 2023.
https://store.solanamobile.com/
Learn More about the OSOM and the Solana Mobile at the Solana Podcast!
Listen to Jason Keats, the Founder & Chief Hooligan of OSOM and Founder & CEO of Solana Anatoly Yakovenko at the following podcast episode
So Are You Gonna Buy the New Solana Saga Mobile Phone?
Check us out at Twitter to respond !
