JioPhone Next to launch in India on Friday : Five key things to know

JioPhone Next to launch in India on Friday : Five key things to know

JioPhone Next to launch in India on Friday : Five key things to know

JioPhone Next is likely to be the next big disruption in the Indian market once it launches on September 10. With promises of an ultra-affordable price and a number of features, here is what we can look forward to with the JioPhone Next launch.

JioPhone Next, soon to be India's cheapest smartphone, will mark its debut this Friday - September 10. 

The device comes from the makers of other affordable phones in the past, like the JioPhone and the JioPhone 2. Though the upcoming launch will be the first time that Reliance Jio comes up with a smartphone in the country.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani first announced the device at the company's 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in June. 

Since then, there has been much anticipation on what is to come from the house of Jio, especially after the success of its earlier phones JioPhone and JioPhone 2.

The devices did well in the Indian market thanks to their very low prices. However, both the models of JioPhones to date have been feature phones. 

They catered to the audience who wanted to get on the smartphone ecosystem, with a limited number of related apps and services like WhatsApp. A touch display was not an option on these.

JioPhone Next will be the company's first attempt at such a device. Equipped with a 5.5-inch HD+ display, JioPhone Next comes in an outdated form factor, though it promises big on the latest smartphone features at an entry-level price.

JioPhone Next will likely be India's cheapest smartphone - First things first. The reason JioPhone Next is gaining headlines is not because of the features it promises. 

With the device, Jio wants to compete with global companies to offer an "ultra-affordable smartphone" to the Indian market. It is thus likely to price it at a point that we may never have seen before in India. 

The exact price point is yet unknown though there have been speculations that suggest that the JioPhone Next will launch for Rs 3,499. 

What's more, Jio might launch two models of the smartphone, and the other one might be priced a bit higher and be equipped with more features.

JioPhone Next has been co-developed by Google and Jio - so what does this mean? In his speech, Mukesh Ambani mentioned that the device would be an Android phone running "an extremely optimized" operating system that Jio and Google have developed, especially for the Indian market. 

It will also be loaded with the complete set of Jio and Google apps, some of which will be JioTV, Jio Engage, Google Maps and like.

JioPhone Next will feature Google Play Store - Among other Google apps, the device will also feature Play Store. 

This means JioPhone Next users will be able to download any of the numerous Android apps and use them. Whether the smartphone will be compatible with all the popular apps is yet to be seen.

JioPhone Next will be feature-loaded - At the time of its announcement, Mukesh Ambani listed some features that we will see on the JioPhone Next. 

The highlights are - voice assistant, automatic read aloud and language translation. Jio has also embedded Snapchat Lenses into its camera that will enable augmented reality filters, much in use these days for social media activities. 

So, it is easy to see that the JioPhone Next, at its expected price, will be quite a feature-loaded smartphone.

Jio will likely run finance schemes on the JioPhone Next - Reports have indicated that Jio will provide buyers with EMI options on the JioPhone Next. 

The idea is to reduce the upfront payment that the buyers will have to make. It has been reported that the initial price of the smartphone can go down to as low as Rs 500, with the remaining amount to be paid in instalments later.