Reliance Jio is working on a number of products in addition to strengthening its network in India. Apart from working on a budget smartphone in partnership with Google, it is reportedly prepping an Android laptop for the masses.
In an exclusive report, XDADevelopers say that Reliance Jio is working on a laptop with cellular connectivity. Apparently, it could launch as the JioBook and run Google’s Android OS. Jio’s partnership with Google goes a long way from 2020 and beyond. The Alphabet-owned company has already invested in the Jio Platforms Ltd for a 7.73% equity stake.
Additionally, it is working with the Jio to develop a $50 Android smartphone for the Indian market. Coming back, according to evidences found on an early firmware, the OS on the JioBook may be called JioOS.
Unlike early talks, the laptop’s CPU seems to be based on ARM-platform and the current prototype is said to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset. The development for this seems to have begun in Sep. 2020 and Jio is partnering with China’s Bluebank Communication technology.
And talking about the EVT design shown above, although the test version has a keyboard with a ‘Windows’ function key, it could get replaced in the final version. This is because the Snapdragon 665 isn’t on the list of “Windows 10 on ARM” supported Qualcomm chipsets.
Reliance Jio’s ‘JioBook’ Laptop – Specs(Expected)
Talking about cellular connectivity, the Snapdragon X12 modem on the Snapdragon 665 could help Jio spread the ‘always-connected’ 4G LTE tagline and sell the laptops & expand its network more.
As for specs, the product, which is currently in the EVT stage(Engineering Validation Test), reportedly has a display with a resolution of 1366×768 pixels(HD-display), 2GB/4GB LPDDR4x RAM, and 32GB eMMC and 64GB eMMC 5.1 storage.
The company seems to be opting for the cheaper components like Samsung‘s combined mobile DRAM and NAND chips. This could be a step to price the laptop very low and make it affordable for everyone.
Either way, other possible specs include HDMI port, Qualcomm audio chip(could be for 3.5mm audio/mic & speaker), 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3-axis accelerometer.
JioBook Software
As mentioned above, the firmware reveals that the JioBook test version ran a version of Android 10 OS. Also, to cut down the cost of licensing, the JioBook might skip pre-installing the Google Apps but will likely be loaded with JioStore, JioMeet, JioPages, and more.
The report says that evidences of Microsoft apps like Microsoft Teams, Edge, and Office were also spotted on the test version. This suggests that Jio might be targeting the productivity and business segment too.
Talking about the launch, the EVT is said to transition into the PVT(Production Validation Test) by April and the JioBook laptop will likely be unveiled in India in May. In that case, we are sure to get more details in the coming months.
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