JioPhone Next launch delayed; rollout around Diwali

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Reliance Jio has announced a delay in the launch of its budget-friendly smartphone, JioPhone Next, which was supposed to be rolled out on September 10, 2021. According to the company’s official statement, the trials for JioPhone Next have started among a set of users to assess for any refinement and widen its availability around Diwali. The company said this will help them buy time to tackle the global semiconductor shortages impacting the industries. The smartphone is co-developed by Google and Reliance Jio and is termed as the ultra-affordable smartphone.

The statement by Jio reads, “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 added.

Earlier in June, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani had said that the JioPhone Next will be launched on September 10 and will help India become 2G-free. Google and Jio have together designed the smartphone which will specially cater to the Indian consumer’s needs.

The JioPhone Next’s operating system will be based on Android 11 and the users will be getting the basic Android phone experience. It will have Google software services like Google Assistant and Google Play store. It will also support features like the automatic read-aloud and language translation for any on-screen text, a smart camera with India-centric filters.

The device is said to offer premium features that are supposed to be offered by only much more technologically advanced handsets, for example, voice-first features that will allow consumers to navigate the phone in their own language and consume content. It will also deliver a high-quality camera and the latest Andriod features along with security updates.

The pricing has not been revealed by the company but many are contemplating it to be around Rs 5,000.