Telecom giant Reliance Jio and global tech behemoth Google Inc announced today that the much-anticipated JioPhone Next, the made-for-India smartphone jointly designed by the two companies, will be available in stores across the country from Diwali (November 4).

As per Reliance Jio, it will be the “most affordable smartphone anywhere in the world”, with an entry price of only Rs 1,999 and the rest can be paid via easy EMI over 18/24 months.

“A unique financing option like this is being introduced for the first time for a device in this category, making it accessible for a much wider set of consumers,” the company said.

It added that JioPhone Next will be available across the country at Reliance Retail’s extensive network of JioMart Digital retail locations.

JioPhone Next Availability

• Visit nearest Jio Mart Digital retailer
• or visit www.jio.com/next
• or WhatsApp ‘Hi’ to 70182-70182
• On receiving ta confirmation, visit a nearby JioMart retailer to collect your JioPhone Next

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Industries said Google and Jio teams have succeeded in bringing this “breakthrough device” to Indian consumers in time for the festival season, in spite 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,” Ambani said.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the tech giant has built the JioPhone Next in “deep collaboration” with Reliance Jio.

JioPhone Next Processor

The processor comes from Qualcomm, which focuses on delivering optimised connectivity and location technologies, along with optimisations in device performance, audio, and battery.

What is PRAGATI OS

• JioPhone Next is first-of-its-kind smartphone featuring Pragati OS, an optimised version of Android made for the JioPhone
• Google and Jio have worked closely to create Pragati OS, aimed at addressing the needs of millions of smartphone users across the country
• 10 Indian languages are available
• Feature to translate text and have it read back in your own language
• Text can be read out loud in any of the 10 Indian languages.

Features of JioPhone Next

Voice first capabilities: Google Assistant helps users to operate the device (Open App, manage settings etc) by just speaking to it.

Read Aloud: The ‘Read Aloud’ functionality enables the user to have any content on their screen read out to them by the device.

Translate Now: The Translate Now functionality enables the user to have any screen translated to the 10 popularly spoken Indian languages.

Easy and Smart Camera: JioPhone Next is equipped with a smart and camera that supports various photography modes such as Portrait Mode, allowing users to capture great photos with an automatically blurred

background.

Access to millions of apps: The device supports all the available Android apps that users can download and use in the device via Google Play.

Automatic feature updates: JioPhone Next comes with over the air updates support for new features, customisation, security updates.

Quickly share apps: You can share apps, files, photos, videos, music and more with family and friends, even without the internet, using the ‘Nearby Share’ feature.