$16,000 Solarin Smartphone Bites The Dust

Sirin Labs launched the Solarin smartphone with much fanfare in May last year. The launch event had some of the biggest Hollywood celebrities in attendance, including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. The unique selling point of this $16,000 Android smartphone was that it was ultra-secure and the rich and famous were supposed to pay for this privilege. They haven’t, apparently, because Sirin Labs has decided to end production of this $16,000 handset.

Business Insider reports that Sirin Labs has discontinued its $16,000 smartphone and has even laid off 30 of its 90 employees.

The biggest reason why this handset failed to take off is pretty obvious. There aren’t a lot of people out there who would pay $16,000 for an Android smartphone.

It’s just too much to pay for a smartphone that, after all, features hardware that will become obsolete in a couple of years. Moreover, there are far cheaper secure Android smartphone options available on the market that cost less than $1,000.

Those who did spend this ridiculous amount of money on a smartphone can rest assured, though, as the company has said that it will continue to support the Solarin going forward. As far as the company’s future is concerned, Sirin Labs says that it’s “pursuing new directions to a new product line.”

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Solarin