OSOM OV1 is dead, now a crypto-focused smartphone called the ‘Solana Saga’

Ben Schoon | Jun 23 2022 - 11:48 am PT

The OSOM OV1 was a new Android smartphone built from the bones of Essential, but it’s now being rebranded as a crypto/web3 device, the “Solana Saga.”

OSOM today announced a partnership with Solana, a web3 company focused on bringing the “Solana Mobile Stack” to mobile devices because “web3 is not made for smartphones” right now. That would all change with the “Solana Saga,” a flagship Android smartphone built by OSOM.

As it turns out, the Solana Saga is also the end of the OSOM OV1.

A tweet from the official OSOM Twitter account revealed that the OV1 “will now be” the Solana Saga, and we doubly confirmed that with OSOM’s PR team.

OSOM provided the following statement:

OSOM is thrilled to partner with Solana to produce the Solana Saga, a flagship Android mobile phone with unique functionality and features tightly integrated with the Solana blockchain making it easy and secure to transact in web3 and manage digital assets, such as tokens and NFTs.
“OSOM is incredibly excited to partner with Solana in building the Saga. The world needs novel hardware companies to support the future that is Web3. Building out an ecosystem that looks to the future without being burdened by past legacy ecosystems is hugely exciting” says Jason Keats, Founder and CEO of OSOM Products Inc.

Pre-orders for the Saga are opening up in the form of a $100 deposit today in the US, Canada, and the UK. Deposits are refundable if you change your mind at a later date. The full price of the device is $1,000, and you need a Solana wallet to make your deposit.

Beyond the web3 focus, the Saga is also fully unveiling its spec sheet today. It has a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 12GB of RAM, a 6.55-inch 120Hz display, 4,100 mAh battery with wireless charging, a 50MP primary camera, and a 12MP ultrawide camera, and will ship in Q1 2023, as was confirmed to Droid-Life.

In any case this is, uh, quite the turn of events.