Andy Rubin, the father of Android, launched the Essential Phone in 2017, but it collapsed before it could make it to the second generation release. in December 2021, a company called OSOM (made up of former employees of the now defunct Essential) announced plans for the OSOM OV1 smartphone.
Today, OSOM announced a partnership with Solana Mobile to launch the phone, and the OV1’s new name will be Saga.
Looking at the hardware specs, the Saga sounds like a very high-end device. It will come with a 6.67-inch OLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 + Gen 1 processor, 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
And according to the previously announced look, it will feature a stainless steel and titanium case, a ceramic back case with Corning Victus cover glass.
As previously reported, stainless steel will be used for the phone’s frame, while titanium will be used for the power and volume buttons and the ring-shaped bump around the camera. It sounds like the phone will have some weight to it, and Osom says it will be “significantly larger” than the Essential Phone. The company also says the phone will come in white and matte black, but “there will be some surprises” in terms of color.
Solana Mobile has launched Solana Mobile Stack for Saga, a library of software that will allow developers to create apps that can create secure digital transactions. it will also allow these apps to connect to the Solana blockchain to securely and easily transfer digital assets, including NFT.
The Saga phone will be released sometime in early 2023 and is expected to cost about $1,000 (about $6,710) and will only be available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The phone is currently available for pre-order for $100 on the website.
