From Finney to Saga to Xiaomi, Web3 phones are heading towards a "experience-driven" mass era

Author: Sanqing, Foresight News

On December 10, the high-performance public chain Sei announced a partnership with Xiaomi, the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer. The Sei Foundation will develop a new generation of crypto wallets and a decentralized application (DApp) discovery platform, which will be pre-installed directly on Xiaomi’s new smartphones targeted at the global market (excluding Mainland China and the US).

Both parties plan to utilize Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology to enable users to log into wallets directly using Google or Xiaomi accounts, eliminating the intimidating “seed phrase” for ordinary users. They also plan to pilot a stablecoin payment system in Hong Kong and the EU regions in Q2 2026, supporting users to purchase electronic products at over 20,000 Xiaomi retail stores using tokens like USDC.

Review: The Seven-Year Evolution of Web3 Phones

First Generation Attempts (2018–2020): Hardcore Security and Wild Imagination

Image source: Network, AI-generated collage

Around 2018, amid the first major bull market in the crypto space, the first “blockchain phones” emerged. Notable examples include Sirin Labs’ Finney and HTC’s Exodus 1, both designed around “hardware sovereignty” and “extreme security.”

Taking Sirin Labs’ Finney as an example, this phone features a unique slide-out “Secure Screen” that displays transaction details and inputs passwords via physical isolation, ensuring funds are secure even if the main system is compromised. HTC and Binance collaborated to develop Exodus 1, which introduced “Zion Vault,” utilizing the phone’s Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) to store private keys.

Besides Sirin and HTC, there’s also SikurPhone, a device worth mentioning as it represented attempts at a “closed system” approach. Launched by a Brazilian security company, SikurPhone emphasizes “hacker resistance” and has a built-in cold wallet. Its extreme feature is running a highly closed SikurOS, which does not allow users to install third-party apps (subject to vendor approval), reducing attack surfaces.

Apart from secure storage, entrepreneurs of that time envisioned a more cyberpunk future. Pundi X launched the Blok On Blok (BOB) phone, trying to solve decentralized communication issues. This modular phone allowed users to switch between “Android mode” and “Blockchain mode,” claiming to enable calls and data transmission over decentralized networks without carrier involvement.

In this phase, Electroneum released the M1 phone priced at only $80. Aimed at developing countries, it allowed users to perform “cloud mining” on their phones to earn tokens for paying bills. Although it failed to gain widespread adoption due to poor experience, it was in fact a precursor to the later “phone as miner” and JamboPhone models.

However, none of these devices ultimately escaped commercial failure. Finney, priced at $999, had poor sales; Pundi X’s decentralized communication failed to gain traction due to a lack of user base. The technology at that time overly emphasized turning the phone into a “cold wallet” or “full node,” which was too high a barrier for ordinary users, limiting the products to niche geek circles.

Mainstream Manufacturers Test Waters (2019–2022): Cautious Exploration

Image source: Network, AI-generated collage

After observing early entrepreneurial attempts, mainstream phone manufacturers began to test cautiously. Samsung integrated Samsung Blockchain Keystore into the Galaxy S10 series, theoretically providing hardware-level encrypted wallets to hundreds of millions of flagship users.

Notably, Samsung had already laid the groundwork for “buy a phone and get tokens” back in 2019. In the special edition Galaxy Note 10 “Klaytn Phone,” Samsung partnered with Korea’s internet giant Kakao, randomly gifting 2,000 KLAY tokens. This can be seen as an early prototype of the later successful Solana Saga model, though at the time it was confined to the Korean market and did not cause a global sensation.

This period also saw attempts targeting specific niche markets. For example, Vertu launched Metavertu, priced at several tens of thousands of dollars, emphasizing “dual-system” switching and luxury services to attract crypto-rich users. HTC also shifted to a metaverse concept with the Desire 22 Pro.

Although major manufacturers’ involvement brought better hardware experiences, the limitations of this stage were still evident: Web3 features were often hidden in deep menus or merely used as marketing gimmicks, failing to fundamentally change user habits.

Apart from big brands’ “hardware wallet” attempts (Samsung) and “luxury gimmicks” (Vertu), there was also a lightweight path focused on “software-defined memberships,” exemplified by Nothing Phone. Nothing Phone collaborated with Polygon to establish a decentralized membership loyalty program through “Black Dot” NFTs.

New Wave (2023–2025): Ecosystem Binding and Infrastructure

Image source: Network, AI-generated collage

Entering 2023, the Web3 phone market was fully activated by Solana Saga, ushering in a new era of “ecosystem binding” and “token incentives.” Although initially hampered by poor cost-performance and slow sales, the phone was sold out after the included BONK tokens airdrop exceeded its retail price, earning it the nickname “Dividend Phone.”

Subsequent Solana Seeker (Chapter 2) continued this approach by tying in “Soul Bound Tokens” (SBT) to prevent scalping and introduced the TEEPIN architecture to support decentralized infrastructure networks.

Meanwhile, ecosystem competition intensified. TON launched the Universal Basic Smartphone (UBS), priced at $99, directly challenging JamboPhone. Utilizing Telegram’s massive user base, TON phones emphasize “data dividends,” allowing users to earn by completing tasks and profit from selling their data. Binance Labs incubated Coral Phone, aiming to create a dedicated hardware entry point for the BNB Chain ecosystem, focusing on multi-chain aggregation and AI functions.

In the low-end market, JamboPhone entered at a super low price of $99, serving as an entry point for “super apps” and attracting users in Africa and Southeast Asia through a “Learn to Earn” mode. New entrants like Up Mobile also began leveraging AI and Move language technology. Jambo has already launched its second-generation device, maintaining the $99 price but upgrading to 12GB RAM (while the processor remains entry-level), capable of handling more Web3 tasks and “super app” functions in emerging markets.

China Telecom and Shutu Conflux’s BSIM card demonstrate another path: a SIM card embedded with a high-performance secure chip. Users only need to swap the SIM card to transform any ordinary Android phone into a higher-security Web3 device. This “Trojan horse” strategy offers a new approach for large-scale adoption in compliant markets.

Trends: Five Key Shifts

Over these eight years of development, we can clearly identify five critical transformations in Web3 phones.

1. Hardware capabilities and security architecture are upgrading. Early security relied mainly on software or simple TEE isolation, but now, technology is evolving toward more complex solutions. Solana Seeker introduced the TEEPIN (Trusted Execution Environment Platform Infrastructure Network) architecture, enabling phones to participate as trusted nodes in DePIN networks. China Telecom and Shutu Conflux’s BSIM card directly integrates private key generation and storage into the SIM card, achieving telecom-grade hardware security. Xiaomi’s collaboration with Sei employs MPC technology, allowing one-click login via Google accounts and secure management without seed phrases.

2. Ecosystem binding becomes standard. Modern Web3 phones are not just general encryption devices but gateways into specific blockchain ecosystems. Saga binds Solana, Up Mobile connects with Movement Labs, and JamboPhone is built on Aptos, further aggregating Solana and Tether payment ecosystems, becoming a new entry point for super apps in emerging markets. Phones are channels for distributing and retaining blockchain applications.

3. Airdrops or incentives dominate user growth. Users’ motivation to buy Web3 phones has shifted from “secure storage” to “profit-making.” Saga’s success proves hardware can be a “loss leader” used for traffic, with subsequent token airdrops and other incentives compensating users. This “phone as miner” or “phone as shovel” economic model has become the most powerful driver in the current market.

4. Application scenarios take precedence over technical concepts. Early products obsessed over geeky features like running full nodes, but now, the focus is on practical applications. Xiaomi’s collaboration with Sei centers on stablecoin payments; JamboPhone emphasizes in-built applications for traffic monetization. Addressing real payment and app distribution issues is more attractive than mere technical stacking.

5. Channel and scale effects begin to emerge. The sale of 20,000 Solana Saga units is hailed as a huge success, but in the context of Xiaomi’s annual shipment of 168 million units, it’s just a drop in the ocean. When giants like Xiaomi start pre-installing wallets via system updates, Web3 user growth will leap from “tens of thousands” to “hundreds of millions.” This scale effect is unmatched by any niche crypto phone manufacturer.

Conclusion: Tear Down Walls, Integrate into Mainstream

Over these eight years of evolution, we have tried to build costly, closed Web3 phones to create secure fortresses. But reality has shown that the true “walls” hindering Web3 adoption are not security, but the complexity of seed phrases and the disjointed user experience.

The truly valuable Web3 phones will no longer need to tout themselves as “Web3 phones.” They should be like today’s 5G smartphones: users don’t need to understand the underlying protocols, only enjoy the fast experience.

Solana Mobile has proven that interest-driven circle-breaking is feasible, and SEI partnering with Xiaomi is attempting to demonstrate that experience-driven integration is the long-term solution. In this evolution from “hardcore toys” to “mass tools,” whoever can lower the technical threshold of Web3 the most and break down these cognitive walls will hold the key to the next billion users.