The Solana Seeker phone is not your average smartphone, nor does it want to be. Building on the lessons of its predecessor, the Saga, Solana Mobile’s newest device reimagines what a crypto-native phone can be. Smaller, lighter and boasting a longer-lasting battery compared to its predecessor, the Seeker aims to improve on the user experience while doubling down on mobile-first crypto usability.

Out of the box, it’s clear who this device is for: active Solana users who regularly transact on-chain, with the design focusing on everything crypto-first. With 150,000 phones pre-ordered from over 50 countries, and at a price point of $500, the Seeker wants to bring Solana ecosystem participants the ability to transact on the go in a matter of seconds.

If you’re someone who frequently uses Solana, the Seeker might feel like it was built specifically for you. However, this phone is not intended for the casual crypto user.

“If you’re somebody who transact at least once a week, frankly, then you might not be a full on power user, but you’re at least a regular enough user that Seeker makes sense,” said Emmett Hollyer, the general manager at Solana Mobile, to CoinDesk in an interview.

One of the biggest criticisms of the Saga was that it went a little too far in focusing on the security aspect at the expense of ease-of-use. “We learned we were so focused on building a secure experience the first time around that we sort of got out of our own way with usability,” said Hollyer.

The security is still there; every device acts like a wallet that’s always on-chain, but the process of signing transactions has been significantly streamlined. Now, with just a single click and a fingerprint verification, a user can approve a transaction, marking a noticeable change from the multiple steps Saga required, which makes trading on the go feel much more natural.

Specifications

According to a slide deck shared by Solana Mobile, the Seeker phone comes with 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB for storage, a 6.36 inch display and a 4500 mAh battery, which should be enough to put it somewhere between an Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus on paper in terms of size.

It uses an octa-core Mediatek Dimensity 7300 processor, which is somewhat less powerful than a flagship phone from Apple or Samsung but is largely in line with the Exynos 1580, the chip powering Samsung’s mid-range A56 smartphone. The phone runs on Android 15.

A review device did not come with a headphone jack and an SD card slot for expandable storage.

The device also features four cameras; three on the back (108 megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization, a 50 mp telephoto sensor and a 13 mp ultra-wide) and one on the front (32 mp).

• Full specifications:
• Processor: Mediatek Dimensity 7300
• Memory: 8GB RAM
• Storage: 128 GB
• Display: 6.36″ AMOLED; 2670×1200 px (460 PPI); 120 Hz dynamic refresh
• Battery: 4500 mAh
• Supports 1 nano sim card + 1 esim; has Bluetooth, WiFi and 5G wireless support

Seed Vault Wallet, ID, Token

At the core of the Seeker is the Seed Vault, which protects your private crypto keys with encryption and biometric access. Building on top of that is Solana Mobile’s Seed Vault Wallet, which is integrated with the Seed Vault and acts like Apple Pay, allowing users to approve and verify their transactions. And like Apple Pay, it has a tap-to-pay function.

“It does everything that a regular crypto wallet does, including it lets you connect to [decentralized applications] dapps and access your funds anywhere. It’s just built more mobile-native, directly into the phone and the dapps that are in our store,” Hollyer added.

The wallet supports all major Solana dapps, and comes with a recovery seed phrase, just like other cold wallets. This continuity with the crypto hardware experience ensures that users retain self-custody, even if they lose the device.

Beyond hardware, the phone layers on a new kind of digital identity. Upon setup, each user is issued a Genesis Token and a unique Seeker ID, permanently tying the device to the user.

The phone will also have a unique SKR token, a new token for the ecosystem that is not live yet. While the project’s developers have not shared many details yet about how the token will function, the team wrote that it will “power the economy, incentives and ownership of the ecosystem.”

User experience

Although I’m loyal to my iPhone, the Seeker felt easy enough to navigate for those not used to an Android device. Jumping around from apps was seamless without a clunky experience. The phone has capabilities to download mainstream apps from the Google app store, and supposedly can allow for cell connection (this phone did not come with a SIM).

While I couldn’t fully test mobile connectivity, the interface was surprisingly smooth and responsive, with no noticeable lag or awkward UI hiccups. For anyone hesitant about switching ecosystems, the Seeker offers a familiar enough experience that won’t leave you feeling lost.

Seeker Season Coming This September

To get participants to actively use the device, the Solana Mobile is building momentum through its Seeker Season, launching this September, which the developers claim will bring exclusive features, early access and benefits from dapps participating in the Solana dapp store ecosystem.

“Each week, new dapps will introduce special experiences, early access, and benefits you’ll only find on the Solana dApp store,” according to a slide deck shared by the team. These exclusives provide incentives for early adoption of the phone.

Sales of the original Saga phone were sluggish at first, until crypto traders discovered that each device came with a hefty airdrop of BONK tokens, sparking a rush to buy up remaining units and turning the phone into a brief arbitrage opportunity.

The Solana Seeker is an ambitious and thoughtful reimagining of what a mobile crypto experience should be. It’s not just more compact and user-friendly, it’s designed to bring self-custody into everyday life with minimal friction. Where Saga tried to prove a point, Seeker invites users to participate.

Read more: Solana’s Seeker Phone Coming in Early August Along With SKR Token