India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s digital economy dream is getting a big boost with the kickoff of JioPhone Next. Google and top Indian telecom network Jio Platforms said on Friday that the much-anticipated budget smartphone will be unveiled on November 4.
The affordable smartphone initiative is expected to fill the underserved gap in India, putting internet-enabled phones on the hands of many.
The November 4 launch coincides with the big Indian festival of Diwali. Google and Jio said the JioPhone Next will cost 6,499 Indian rupees ($87), and can also be purchased in multiple instalments with an entry price as low as $27.
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“Among the many rich features of JioPhone Next, the one that has impressed me the most — and one that will empower common Indians the most and take their digital journeys to the next level — is its contribution to India’s linguistic integration. India’s unique strength is our linguistic diversity. Those Indians who might not be able to read content in English or in their language can get it translated, and even read out, in their own language on this smart device,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, which operates Jio Platforms.
Per TechCrunch, the smartphone runs Pragati OS, which is powered by an “extremely optimized” Android mobile operating system with a range of customized features such as Read Aloud and Translate Now that will work with any text on the phone screen, including web pages, apps, messages and even photos, as well as support for 10 Indian languages.
The inclusion of local languages is to eliminate the language barrier that may hinder many Indians from making full use of the internet. With most Indians preferring their local languages, Google and Jio had widened the smartphone’s language option.
Other features of the JioPhone Next include a 5.45-inch HD+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The dual-SIM phone is powered by Qualcomm’s quad-core QM-215 chipset that clocks up to 1.3GHz, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage, which is expandable. It also comes with a 3,500 mAh battery, features a 13-megapixel rear camera with support for HDR and an 8-megapixel selfie sensor.
Reliance had earlier in the year struck a spectrum deal with Bharti Airtel. A move believed will facilitate cheap data services from Bharti Airtel among others. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai Pichai grew up without much access to technology, but witnessed the impact it could make on people’s lives. He thus believes that providing affordable smartphones for India’s underserved will make the difference.
“The JioPhone Next is an affordable smartphone designed for India, inspired by the belief that everyone in India should benefit from the opportunities the internet creates. To build it, our teams had to work together to solve complex engineering and design challenges, and I’m excited to see how millions of people will use these devices to better their lives and communities,” he said in a statement Friday.
Ambani said at an event earlier this year that the JioPhone Next is aimed at helping roughly 300 million users in India who are still on a 2G network upgrade their gadget to access faster networks.
“I am delighted that Google and Jio teams have succeeded in bringing this breakthrough device to Indian consumers in time for the festival season, inspite of the current global supply chain challenges caused by the Covid pandemic. I have always been a firm believer in the power of the Digital Revolution to enrich, enable and empower the lives of 1.35 billion Indians. We have done it in the past with connectivity. Now we are enabling it again with a smartphone device,” he said in a statement Friday.
However, the unveiling of the JioPhone Next will mean that India’s smartphone market, the second largest in the world, will never be the same. Analysts have said in recent months that the JioPhone Next could disrupt the Indian smartphone market and help Reliance Jio’s telecom network, to further solidify its dominance in the country.