Jio by Ambani introduces a $12 4G phone with digital payments and streaming

The leading Indian telecom provider has been vying to convert users who are still “trapped” in the nation’s antiquated 2G networks for years, and its digital arm, Jio Platforms, has just introduced a new mobile device and the accompanying tariff plans.

The Jio Platforms device, dubbed “Jio Bharat,” supports 4G and has several contemporary features, such as UPI mobile payments support and access to Jio’s on-demand video and music streaming services, JioCinema and JioSaavn.

The business said that in addition to producing the Jio Bharat, it would collaborate with other phone manufacturers to use the Jio Bharat Platform to create the phones. Karbonn, a company with its headquarters in Delhi, has joined the platform, according to a statement from the Mukesh Ambani-led company.

The first million ‘Jio Bharat’ phones will begin beta testing on July 7 with India’s top wireless provider, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., according to a statement from the telecommunications division of Reliance Industries Ltd. The phones, which are among the most affordable in India, will come with 14 GB of data and unlimited voice calls for 123 rupees a month. In addition to making payments, the device can watch films via JioCinema, a service owned by Reliance.

It is anticipated that the JioPhone Next’s $12 price would be one of its key selling points. The low cost of this gadget, in a market where high-end smartphones can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, makes it possible for millions of Indians who previously couldn’t afford one to realize their ambition of owning a smartphone. This marks the beginning of a new age for the mobile phone industry, where the cost will no longer be an obstacle to entry for those who are less fortunate.

Ambani’s entry into the market for low-cost smartphones is not Jio Bharat’s first. The wealthiest individual in India has introduced numerous accessible mobile devices. The business unveiled the JioPhone Next, its first smartphone, in late 2021. The project represented an essential partnership with Google, which offered an “extremely optimized” variant of its Android smartphone operating system to operate the gadget.

Reliance Jio To provide 5G services across all of India by December 2023, plans to invest $25 billion. According to equities analysts Akshat Agarwal and Ankur Pant at Jefferies India Pvt Ltd, Jio’s new phone is 20% less expensive than the anticipated average selling price of feature phones in India. They predicted that up to 22 million users of low-cost devices will be persuaded to move to this less expensive choice, potentially costing 11 million subscribers annually to Bharti Airtel Ltd., the nation’s second-largest wireless provider.

We have yet to determine how the JioPhone Next will affect the market. However, it is clear that by making smartphone technology and necessary services available to everyone, this ground-breaking device has the potential to fundamentally alter the mobile phone market in India. The potential for economic, educational, and social growth is limitless as more individuals get access to the Internet and digital services. One reasonably priced smartphone at a time, Ambani’s dream of a digitally empowered India is becoming a reality.

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