Last year, Reliance Jio had announced Google’s investment of Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.7 percent stake in the company. Along with that, it was also revealed that both the companies will be collaborating for making a low-cost Android smartphone.
Now, it is being reported that Qualcomm will also be playing a key role for this upcoming entry-level smartphone. With budget smartphones, Jio is trying to convert feature phone users, especially its JioPhone users, into first-time smartphone users.
Rajen Vagadia, President of Qualcomm India, told ET that the company will continue the legacy of collaborating and supporting Jio in bringing new devices and offerings, across price tiers in the market.
Qualcomm’s 400-series chipsets are likely to be used for the budget smartphones — both for 4G as well as 5G. However, the company hasn’t confirmed reaching a deal for the same, saying that such deals would be confidential.
As per the previous reports, Reliance Jio had planned to launch the budget smartphone made in collaboration with Google, by December 2020. However, the release of the device has been postponed and is now expected to get launched in the first quarter of this year.
The upcoming budget smartphone is expected to be priced around Rs 4,000 (approximately $55) to attract the masses in the Indian market. Another report claims that the Jio is expected to roll out around 200 million units within two years in hopes to rope in new users to maintain its lead in the market.
It will be interesting to how the upcoming Jio-Google budget smartphone performs in the market. Google has been trying to focus on the budget offerings with services like Android Go and Android One, but so far hasn’t been able to provide support after initial few months. Indian smartphone market is already highly competitive and it remains to been seen if Jio’s smartphones can be a threat to the likes of Xiaomi and Realme.
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