Renowned tech influencer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) recently assessed the smartphone lineup of 2023, labeling Saga, a smartphone within the Solana ecosystem, as the least impressive.
The controversial Solana Saga phone faced severe criticism from the technology luminary. In his evaluation of the top phones for 2023, Brownlee, acclaimed for reviewing leading products from giants like Apple and Microsoft and backed by an audience of 18 million YouTube followers, dubbed the Saga Solana phone a complete “failure of 2023.”
While acknowledging the phone’s commendable build quality and design, Brownlee emphatically deemed purchasing this device a “poor decision.”
The Solana Saga smartphone distinguishes itself with its integration of blockchain technology, tailored to augment the user experience for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and developers. It aims to fuse cutting-edge mobile technology with the functional capabilities of Solana’s blockchain, introducing a novel level of utility and connectivity for the crypto community.
Debuting for sale in April 2023, Solana Labs unveiled the Saga smartphone, later reducing its price to $599 due to dwindling demand.
However, in December, Saga smartphone sales skyrocketed tenfold, paralleling the surge in BONK cryptocurrency, a popular asset within the Solana blockchain, which was distributed as a bonus with every phone purchase. At one point, the value of these tokens surpassed the physical phone itself.
By mid-December, all units were sold out in the United States. With heightened demand, resales of the Saga phone peaked at several thousand dollars, with reports of one device fetching $5,000.
The device’s fervor is primarily attributed to the airdrop of 30 million Bonk (BONK) meme coins accompanying the purchases. Over the past month, this meme coin has surged by 305%, trading close to $0.00001797 as per CoinMarketCap.
