The competition among Android manufacturers isn’t what it used to be, which is why it’s exciting every time a new company throws its hat in the ring. We haven’t heard much about Solana Saga since OSOM announced its crypto partnership earlier this summer. Today, the company held its first Q&A with CEO Jason Keats about the upcoming device, giving a deep dive into what to expect from the software experience, which bands are supported, and plans for future hardware.
Unsurprisingly, most of the conversation focused on the Solana saga and the company’s move to crypto. Although it’s based on the original plans for the OSOM OV1, it’s not exactly the same smartphone we first saw last December. Referring to the change to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC mid-development, Keats says the transition went well, largely thanks to the collaboration with Qualcomm.
Unlike nothing, OSOM is targeting both North American and European launches for Solana Saga. Unfortunately, the device lacks the bands necessary for Dish’s new 5G network — my condolences if you had plans to switch networks once it’s live in your city — but support for T-Mobile and its upcoming satellite network with SpaceX has been confirmed. OSOM plans to release a full set of compatible bands closer to launch, although the excluded bands appear to be consistent with the list we published in June.
As for the camera, don’t expect pixel quality right out of the gate. Still, Keats feels his team has already overcome Apple’s color rendition months after launch and hopes buyers will be impressed by what a small team like OSOM has managed to achieve. It doesn’t necessarily sound as impressive as one might hope, but we’ll have to see some real-world examples before we make any judgments.
It’s hard to separate the basic software experience from what many fear when they hear about a crypto-based phone, but here we go. Keats says the experience is based on vanilla Android with a few tweaks, which sounds like a similar approach to what we’ve seen from Nothing earlier this year. That said, he directly compares the software to Google’s Pixel improvements, stressing similar approaches from Nothing or OnePlus.
Although Keats promises a minimum of four years of software support for the Solana Saga, he was unwilling to specify how many major Android updates the device would receive over its lifetime. Likewise, expect monthly updates to be slower than Essential’s lightning-fast approach. According to Keats, the certification process is more complex than it was in the essential years, but he is communicating with Google about how to streamline getting these updates to users.
Addressing the elephant in the room, OSOM wants to reassure crypto-skeptics that the device can be purchased and used without ever dealing with Solana as currency or any of the crypto-based features on the phone. Keats assured users that these tools are not necessary and compared them to the accessibility menu in the settings. For any potential buyers concerned about the ongoing cryptocurrency crash, Keats clarified that Solana prices have had “little if any effect on OSOM.”
Despite the pivot to crypto, the company hasn’t abandoned its enthusiast roots. OSOM will sell replacement parts through its website, and you can repair the phone without proprietary tools. The company is also interested in starting a custom ROM community for Saga, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
As for the future of OSOM, there is nothing specific to announce today. Still, Keats teased some areas he’s interested in, including wearables and the automotive space. Neither sounded like an announcement so much as a couple of arenas the company could enter if the Saga is a success, though he did elaborate on cars. Despite working on the original version of CarPlay, Keats has never been satisfied with how vehicles and smartphones interact with each other, although solving this would necessitate an automotive partner.
Perhaps most interesting for future – and past – devices was Project GEM. That phone, nearly completed under Essential, was originally meant to continue development under OSOM, but unfortunately it didn’t pan out. Nevertheless, Keats is interested in adopting unique form factors along the way.
Despite this Q&A, many questions remain regarding the future of OSOM and whether the Saga will emerge as a true competitor to other enthusiast smartphones from Nothing and OnePlus. The plan for a Q1 launch is still on track, so expect to hear a lot more about the device throughout the rest of the year. The phone is currently up for pre-order on Solana Mobile’s website, with no plans to sell through more retailers like Best Buy or Amazon. If you were hoping to order through your carrier, you’re out of luck — Keats confirmed that the company doesn’t work with carriers.
