Jio, Google put off smartphone launch
The trials of the smartphone are in an advanced stage, while the launch date has been pushed to Diwali
NEW DELHI: The much-awaited affordable smartphone ‘JioPhone Next’ is in advanced trials and its festive season roll-out will commence before Diwali, according to a statement by Jio.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani had earlier this year said that ‘JioPhone Next’— being jointly developed by Jio and Google—would be available from September 10.
In a statement, Jio has now said, “Both companies have begun testing JioPhone Next with a limited set of users for further refinement and are actively working to make it available more widely in time for the Diwali festive season.” This additional time will also help “mitigate the current industry-wide, global semiconductor shortages”, the statement further said, adding that this additional time will also help mitigate the current industry-wide, global semiconductor shortages.
Semiconductors, components that power most consumer electronics, have been in short supply this year, impacting everything from automobiles to smartphones to video game consoles.
The short-supply has stemmed from Covid-19 induced factory closures and heightened demand for consumer electronics.
Jio and Google said they have made “considerable progress” towards launching the muchawaited JioPhone Next, the made-for-India smartphone being jointly designed by the companies.
“JioPhone Next is a first-of-itskind device featuring an optimized operating system based on Android and Play Store,” it added.
The device and the operating system would offer “premium capabilities” that have until now been associated with more powerful smartphones, including voice-first features that enable people to consume content and navigate the phone in their own language, deliver a great camera experience, and get the latest Android feature and security updates.
“JioPhone Next is built with exciting features like the Google Assistant, automatic read-aloud and language translation for any on-screen text, a smart camera with India-centric filters and much more,” it said.
The companies remain committed to their vision of opening up new possibilities for millions of Indians, especially those who will experience the internet for the very first time.
‘JioPhone Next’ is widely expected to be among the mostaffordable smartphone, although its pricing has not been disclosed yet.
The JioPhone Next will run an a version of Android specially developed for India, and will carry a slew of features tailored for the South Asian country including automatic read-aloud and and language translation for any on-screen text and a smart camera with India-centric filters, Reliance Jio said. A report by Fast Company says JioPhone Next will also carry features typically reserved for Google’s own line of Pixel phones including a camera app bundled with Google’s HDR technology, which it says will “come in handy given the hardware won’t be top-ofthe-line.
Although the price of the phone is unknown, sources said pricing will be below the $100 mark as the companies strive to compete in the price-sensitive Indian market.
This isn’t the first time Google has aimed to increase sales by launching an “ultracheap” smartphone in emerging Asia. In 2014, the search giant tried (then failed) to bring Android phones that cost less than $100 to “the next five billion” users in the emerging markets.
The rollout of the so-called Android One was slated for India, Indonesia and the Philippines.