• HTC announced the launch of Exodus 1s yesterday. 
• The lightweight version of Exodus 1 will allow users to run a Bitcoin full node. 

Taiwanese tech company HTC has launched its second blockchain smartphone, the Exodus 1s. Following HTC’s announcement of the Exodus 1s six months ago, it was unveiled at yesterday’s Lightning Conference in Berlin. As the company explained, the Lightweight successor to the Exodus 1 is now available at a price of €219 ($244).

The Exodus 1s is a cheaper version of the Exodus 1, which currently sells for over 700 USD /EUR. Despite the low price, the Exodus 1s has an outstanding new feature. The device can be used as a full node in the Bitcoin network. Among other things, this is possible because a 400+GB SD card can be inserted into the Exodus 1s.

By default the Exodus 1s is only equipped with a memory of 63 GB and 4GB RAM. Currently the size of the Bitcoin blockchain is approx. 260 GB, whereby an annual growth of approx. 60 GB is expected. Thus an additional SD is obligatory.

Operating a full node does not necessarily mean that the user of the smartphone can participate in Bitcoin Mining. The computing power of Exodus 1s is too low for this compared to specialised ASICs. However, Exodus 1s gives the buyer greater privacy and security, since no Bitcoin wallet third-party providers need to be used. In addition, the own transactions do not have to be sent to a foreign full node.

Phil Chen, Chief Decentralized Officer at HTC, underlined in a statement the importance of a Bitcoin full node:

Full nodes are the most important part of the resilience of the Bitcoin network, and we have lowered the entry barrier for any person operating a node.

It plays a really important role in the entire Bitcoin ecosystem. It allows you to forward transactions, confirm transactions, validate transactions, and is basically one of the best ways for anyone to contribute to the overall security of the network.

Also interesting is Chen’s statement that HTC’s recommendation is that the full node should be operated when power is connected and a WiFi connection is established. It will also be possible to run the full node when you are on the move, however the question will be how long the battery will last.

Like Exodus 1, Exodus 1s will have a built-in wallet app, the Zion Vault. The wallet is supposed to have similar protection to hardware wallets, as it runs in an isolated area, a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). Even if malware is executed on the smartphone’s operating system, the “data cannot be stolen”.

The Zion Vault can manage many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Binance Coin. However, operating a full node with HTC Exodus 1s is only possible for Bitcoin, although Chen explained that other blockchains might be possible in the future.

The device will initially be available in 27 countries in Europe, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. A sale in the USA is currently not planned.

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