This article introduces Solana’s newly launched web3 smartphone, Seeker, and explores its main features and the potential value of its airdrop.
(Background:
What did SOL do right after the disaster? A conversation with Foundation Chair Lily Liu: What is the next step for Solana?)
(Background Supplement:
The second-generation Solana phone is officially named “Seeker”: Pre-orders have exceeded 140,000 units, with shipments expected in the middle of next year. Is there still time to anticipate the airdrop?)
**Table of Contents**
– Main Features of Seeker Phone
– Hardware: Improved Camera, but Reduced Storage
– Seed Vault Wallet: Enhanced User Experience
– Solana dApp Store 2.0: New Reward Tracker Feature
– Additional Seeker Genesis Tokens
– AI Integration
– Airship: Making Airdrops Cheaper
– Value of Airdrops Received by Seeker Pre-orderers
– Is Seeker Worth Buying?
On September 19, Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of Solana Labs, officially announced the new web3 smartphone Seeker, which is the second-generation web3 smartphone developed by the company following the first-generation web3 phone, Saga. Earlier this year, Seeker began pre-sales under the codename “Chapter 2,” with official reports indicating that pre-orders have surpassed 140,000 units.
The primary reason Chapter 2 was able to achieve such a high volume of pre-orders without revealing specific information about the device is that the airdrop from on-chain projects for the first-generation web3 phone, Saga, significantly appreciated beyond the purchase cost. Thus, expectations for the second-generation phone are similarly high.
It is reported that the early bird price of $450 for Seeker will end on September 21. With the specific details of the Seeker phone now disclosed, what standout features make it worth purchasing compared to the first-generation phone, Saga? From the perspective of airdrops, can current buyers expect to recoup their costs through future airdrops?
This article will briefly introduce the specific details of the Seeker phone and summarize the value of airdrops received by previous Solana phone pre-orderers, hoping to provide reference for readers’ purchasing decisions.
According to publicly available information, the Saga phone is equipped with a flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and a 4110 mAh battery; it has 512 GB of storage, 12 GB of RAM; a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen; two cameras, one with 50 million pixels and the other with 12 million pixels; and features fingerprint unlock.
In contrast, the currently announced hardware specifications for the Seeker phone indicate the following changes:
– Reduced storage: Seeker has 128 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM, which is significantly less than the first-generation phone, Saga.
– Smaller screen size: Seeker features a 6.36-inch AMOLED screen, making it lighter and more compact compared to the first-generation phone.
– Improved camera resolution: Seeker is equipped with two cameras, one with 108 million pixels and the other with 32 million pixels, providing better camera performance than the first-generation phone.
Simultaneously, according to official descriptions, the battery performance of Seeker will also be superior compared to the first-generation Saga, although no specific battery details for Seeker have been released yet.
The Seed Vault Wallet is a mobile-first cryptocurrency wallet specifically designed for Solana Seeker. Its natively integrated hardware Seed Vault allows for seamless self-custody, supporting fingerprint unlock and double-tap transaction sending, providing users with a smoother and upgraded experience.
The Solana dApp Store has added a reward tracker feature to simplify and clearly display all user rewards, and has updated navigation to improve dApp exploration capabilities across areas such as payments, DeFi, DePIN, NFTs, and gaming. Exclusive dApp products for Seeker will also be launched in the future.
Each Solana Seeker comes with a soul-bound Seeker genesis token, which serves as a VIP pass for users to unlock rewards, access rights, and content within the Solana ecosystem. Currently, those who pre-order Seeker can still receive Chapter 2 pre-order tokens.
Seeker users can utilize Alethea to generate tokenized AI agents (both new and familiar faces), which can interact with the Solana community on-chain or within an app, unlocking new ways to engage and earn.
Helius has launched the ZK compression tool Airship, which can reduce airdrop costs by 4,000 times. Previously, airdropping to the Solana Mobile pre-order community would cost $40,000, but now it only costs $100 and can be automatically airdropped to Chapter 2 pre-order token holders.
Regarding the appreciation of airdrops for Solana’s first-generation web3 smartphone, Saga, if sold at the right time, it not only covers the purchase cost but also yields profits. Therefore, driven by the desire to gain from airdrops, the pre-order volume for Solana Chapter 2 far exceeded that of the first-generation phone, Saga. The following summarizes the main airdrop projects and their values for both the first-generation phone, Saga, and Chapter 2:
As shown in the above image, for first-generation Saga users, the airdrop value is indeed substantial. Even early buyers who spent $1,000 on the phone (with Saga’s price dropping to $599 in August 2023) were able to easily cover their purchase cost with airdrop value, and if sold at the right moment, there could be considerable profit potential.
For Chapter 2 pre-orderers, the difficulty of covering the purchase cost or making a profit from airdrop value is higher compared to the first generation. Chapter 2 pre-orderers will receive higher-value airdrops from the MEW and MANEKI projects, while the airdrop values from other projects are relatively small. To achieve cost recovery or profit, it would be necessary to sell at peak prices consistently.
In summary, from the perspective of airdrops, even though the purchase cost of Chapter 2 has decreased, the difficulty of recouping costs and making a profit has increased. This may also be due to intensified competition, as only over 20,000 units of the first-generation phone, Saga, were sold, while Chapter 2 has already reached 140,000 pre-orders, resulting in a larger pool of participants sharing the rewards, naturally reducing individual shares.
Solana’s continuous development of hardware products may aim to establish itself as the Apple of the cryptocurrency space, creating its own hardware and software ecosystem. However, considering the features of Seeker, the key points for users to focus on may primarily include the reward tracker, Seeker genesis token, new earning models through AI agents, and the airdrop tool Airship.
This may also reflect a positive signal that Solana’s officials are catering to users’ potential demand for airdrop opportunities and are looking to expand the rewards further, attracting more attention to Solana’s hardware products
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