Will JioPhone Next Be Able To Hit The Right Spot?
Finally, it’s official. Reliance Jio has announced its JioPhone Next in association with Google. The entry-level smartphone is touted as the most affordable 4G smartphone and aimed to help people shifting from feature phones to 4G ready smartphones. The price of JioPhone Next is not declared yet, however, it is expected that it will be priced below Rs 5000.
With JioPhone Next, Reliance is eyeing 300 million feature phone users in India. Will it be able to swish the entry-level smartphone market with its product? The answer lies in the price-value proposition of the smartphone. According to experts, India is cost-sensitive market anything above Rs 2000 could introduce the smartphone to new rivals.
Current Scenario
Right now, one can buy a 4G smartphone in India at the starting range of Rs 3000. But most of them are just 4G compatible with very few features. There are lots of features that these smartphones don’t offer, just to maintain their affordability. Moreover, the software experience is also not up to the mark just because of no customization according to mobile configuration.
Reliance Jio is already popular in the feature phone segment, but it was not able to create much impact with its Lyf smartphone series. Will it be able to crack the right spot this time?
“We see a large set of consumers who prefer using phones in the price range of 5-7k, even lower. Jio has already established itself as a hot favorite among its loyalists. This new offering from Jio and Google will encourage customers to switch to this device due to the trust value behind it. Brands like Xiaomi, Realme, Lava, & Micromax may face significant impact from this new made-in-India competition since they mostly dominate this price bracket” said Nakul Kumar, COO & Co-Founder, Cashify.
Used Smartphone Market
One of the major challenges for budget smartphones is the used-smartphone market. According to a Cashify report, India is the fastest-growing second-hand smartphone market. In 2019, second-hand devices below Rs 10,000 registered a growth rate of 9%. This is rapidly increasing as users get more features at a lesser price.
The Jio Phone Next will also face competition from the used phone market which now constitutes a considerable share in the annual shipment.
JioPhone Next At A Glance
JioPhone Next is still not fully disclosed, however, some features including some hardware info are out in the public domain. The operating system of the smartphone will be based on Android which has been developed jointly by Jio and Google.
On the Design front, the JioPhone Next smartphone is similar to the Android smartphones that used to come in 2012. The pictures of the smartphone suggest that it will boast a single camera with LED flash and a selfie camera at the front. Features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Dual-SIM will also be available on the phone.
Moreover, the voice assistant comes preloaded in the smartphone and it has features like automatic read-aloud of screen text, language translation, and a camera with augmented reality filters. Support for regular Android updates will be available on this phone.
