Gaia Labs’ AI smartphone and Solana’s latest devices highlight a renewed push to merge blockchain features in consumer tech.
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Web3 companies are exploring ways to move beyond apps and tokens, experimenting with hardware devices like phones and consoles that merge crypto functions with everyday tech.
Gaia Labs, a decentralized AI and Web3 infrastructure company, on Tuesday its upcoming AI smartphone for users in South Korea and Hong Kong. Built on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge hardware, the device runs AI models directly on the phone, letting users interact with agents without relying on cloud services.
According to the company, Web3 functions include onchain identity support, a pre-loaded Gaia domain, and tools for deploying custom AI agents.
Gaia joins a small group of blockchain ventures experimenting with physical devices. Over the past few years, several projects have tried fusing blockchain with mobile devices.
Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of Solana Labs, its second-generation device, the Solana Seeker, claiming over 150,000 pre-orders and shipping to .
The company’s first mobile device, the Saga phone, was launched in 2023, featuring a built-in Seed Vault and Solana DApp store tied to the .
Web3 entrants aren’t necessarily trying to replace big tech giants in the smartphone industry, such as Apple and Samsung. In a blog tracing the evolution from the Saga to the Seeker, Emmett Hollyer, general manager of Solana Mobile, said their goal is to create “something entirely new: a mobile ecosystem that puts crypto users and developers first.”
Pioneers in the space include Taiwanese electronics maker HTC. In October 2018, it the Exodus 1, a blockchain-powered Android device featuring a built-in hardware wallet (“Zion Vault”) and support for multiple blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
In 2022, , a smartphone with a dual Web2/Web3 platform, crypto wallet features, and NFT support.
“The success metric isn’t market share, it’s proving that decentralized alternatives to Big Tech AI monopolies are technically and economically viable,” Shashank Sripada, co-founder of Gaia, told Cointelegraph.
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Alongside phones, teams behind major blockchains have also experimented with handheld gaming devices.
In late 2024, Mysten Labs, the team behind the Sui blockchain, unveiled the SuiPlay0X1, built with Playtron. The console combines full like zkLogin and onchain asset management.
In August 2025, Solana Mobile announced the , a portable console that doubles as a hardware wallet.
It includes Solana wallet integration, transaction fingerprint security, and Solana’s DApp ecosystem access. Pre-orders opened in 2025, with the first units set to ship in October.
