Reliance at 44th annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday announced that the low-cost Jio-Google low-cost smartphone -- JioPhone Next will launch on September 10. JioPhone Next is powered by an optimised version of Android, which has been jointly developed by Reliance Jio and Google. Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani said the launch of the “ultra-affordable” smartphone will help users who have not experienced faster internet speeds. He also reiterated his stance on a 2G-mukt Bharat (2G-free India).
Shortly after the event, Sunil Mittal-led telecom company Airtel in a statement noted that the launch of the new smartphone will not affect the revenue from its 2G users, as people looking to upgrade go for a smartphone priced above Rs 7000. Airtel further noted that it would continue to work with device manufacturers to make quality smartphones accessible for customers through innovative financing and bundling offers. And in doing so, it would strengthen the efforts of all its partners in the ecosystem.
“Our experience has shown that as customers with entry-level devices upgrade to quality smartphones (priced over Rs 7000), they demonstrate a strong preference for Airtel’s brand and network,” Airtel said in an emailed statement to ET.Airtel and Vodafone Idea reportedly have nearly 300 million 2G users among them who are critical to their revenue streams. Airtel and Vi have been refarming their 2G and 3G airwaves for 4G services.
Airtel CEO Sunil Mittal recently at an event said that it would be tragic if India’s telecom market were to reduce to a market of two private telecom providers from earlier when India had twelve operators. Mittal’s comments come at a time when telecom company Vodafone Idea or Vi is trying to find investors and looks at improving its financial position in the market.
Coming to the upcoming “ultra-affordable,” JioPhone Next whose launch is slated for September 10, it is a full-featured smartphone, complete with the Google Play store. JioPhone Next comes after JioPhone and JioPhone 2. While the JioPhone 1 and the JioPhone 2 were essentially feature phones with some smart features. Some of the features teased on the JioPhone Next include voice assistant support, which means it may support Google Assistant, will be able to read screen text aloud automatically, can handle language translation, and will pack a camera with augmented reality filters.
Some camera features announced include Night mode support, HDR mode, and Snapchat lenses bringing Indian-specific effects to your selfies. The Jio Phone Next has also been confirmed to support the latest Android releases and security updates. The smartphone will offer users access to the Google Play Store.
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