Saygus V2 is finally about to start shipping, one year after announcement

Cam Bunton | Jan 19 2016 - 3:13 am PT

Saygus first wowed us with the ‘world’s most advanced smartphone’ in CES last year. When announced, the Saygus V2 (or V-squared) seemed like an absolute monster in terms of specifications. Sadly, as is often the case with new companies and crowd-funded projects, the device was delayed. Now — after more than a year since it was first unveiled — the V2 is finally about to start shipping (apparently)…

Saygus took to its official Twitter handle to explain the last 6 months worth of delays, claiming it had to end a relationship with a couple of its suppliers/component makers. The company said it released its second ODM in 2015 because of a “vast difference in biz policy.” What this means is that now, Saygus is doing more of its own component building and manufacturing in-house. Now it says it will ship the device within the first quarter of this year:

Details: We hoped to ship in February, but the Chinese New Year eats up a couple of weeks then. Our CES 2016 projection of ‘Q1″ appears safe

— Team Saygus (@Saygus) January 18, 2016

Since it was originally announced, several of the phone’s features and specifications have changed to make it more up to date with today’s smartphones market. For instance, the Saygus will now have Android Marshmallow, Dual SIM support and a USB Type C connector. It’s also equipping the handset with more advanced fingerprint sensors. Due to concerns over heating/throttling issues, Saygus won’t change from a Snapdragon 801 chip to an 810.

One year after announcement, with so many delays, it’s hard to get excited about the latest update from Saygus. Specs which seemed mind-blowing a year ago aren’t as appealing this year, especially not for $400. Saying that, it’s still hard to think of a better equipped 5-inch smartphone. What’s more, there are a few bonuses for long-time supporters of the device. Let’s just hope the company sticks to its promise and ships the phone soon, or it will have no hope of joining the ranks of successful, disruptive smartphones makers.

November tweet added bonus for supporters: 1. SqGl ear buds. 2. Extra protective cover. 3. Spare battery. 4. 50% off next version.

— Team Saygus (@Saygus) January 18, 2016