HTC Exodus 1s Crypto-Smartphone With Bitcoin Full Node Support Announced

HTC Exodus 1s is coming. The Taiwanese smartphone maker has announced that it is bringing another crypto-smartphone in the form of Exodus 1s. The new phone will be a cheaper version of the HTC Exodus 1 that was launched last year. HTC has not shared many details about the upcoming smartphone at this point, however the company has noted that the phone will retail somewhere in between $250 (roughly Rs. 17,500) and $300 (roughly Rs. 21,000). The company also stated that the Exodus 1s will be capable of running a full Bitcoin node.

According to a report in Engadget, HTC Exodus 1s is expected to go on sale around the end of Q3 2019. The new HTC crypto-phone will also support HTC's Zion wallet app, which can be used to store, send, and request a number of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin.

HTC is also releasing the Zion Vault SDK on GitHub to allow the developers to play around with the code and probably build better software.

"We understand it takes a community to ensure strength and security, so it's important to the Exodus team that our community has the best tools available to them," HTC said in a statement.

Although HTC has not shared the specifications of the Exodus 1s, one major highlight of the smartphone is its ability to support full Bitcoin node. Nodes are used to validate and relay transactions on Blockchain and an important part of the Bitcoin infrastructure for the smooth functioning of the cryptocurrency.

HTC says that there is a lack of full nodes on Bitcoin network and it is hoping that the availability of Exodus 1s with full node support will in some way help the overall ecosystem. The company noted that Exodus 1s will need a dedicated SD card to store the full Bitcoin ledger, which is around 200GB right now. The phone itself can hold a “pruned version” on its onboard storage. The “pruned version” comes around 10GB.

HTC has also revealed the original Exodus 1 phone will also get the full Bitcoin node support around the launch of Exodus 1s.

To recall, the original HTC Exodus 1 was launched in October last year and began shipping in December. It was initially only available for purchase using Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin.