JioPhone Next: The art of making a perfect deal - price, specs and everything else we know so far

JioPhone Next price is expected to be quite affordable, specs acceptable and, as far as buyers should be concerned, it is set to play the role of the disruptor all over again.

JioPhone price is expected to come out at just under ₹5000 depending on the deal opted for. (Reliance Jio)

No one has ever accused Reliance Industries of being short on ambition. And that very much applies to Jio Phone Next. Reliance Jio and Google are looking at selling the JioPhone Next 4G smartphone to almost half the population in the country, reveals a report and that also mentions a whopping number in excess of 500 mn. What makes Jio Phone capable of generating those kind of numbers? Well, its the entire package and a bit of ingenuity thrown in that translates into taking advantage of a massive opportunity. The package is all about making a perfect deal - price, specs and features and of course Reliance Jio data plans.

Reliance Jio launched its second feature phone - JioPhone 2 - back in 2018. Three years later at Reliance Industries' 44th annual general meeting, the company announced the JioPhone Next.

JioPhone Next: Standing Apart

Now, the JioPhone Next isn't a successor to the JioPhone 2. Instead, it is a new device altogether. There are many differences between them. For starters, the upcoming JioPhone Next is a smartphone while the JioPhone 2 is a feature phone.

Most important of all, unlike the JioPhone and the JioPhone 2, the JioPhone Next doesn't run on Kai OS. It runs on a modified version of Google's Android OS that is tailored to meet the needs of Indian users. Having pulled this off is a huge triumph for Jio.

JioPhone Next will go on sale in India in September 2021. Ahead of its official launch, here's everything we know about Reliance Jio's first smartphone:

JioPhone Next price

JioPhone Next will go on sale in India on September 10. As far as the pricing is concerned, while announcing the JioPhone Next, Chairman Mukesh Ambani had said that it will be one of the most affordable smartphones in the market. While a price wasn't announced, it isn't hard to guess that the JioPhone Next will be priced as near or even under ₹5000 as possible. It may even get bundled with data deals from Reliance Jio to boost its power to lure even more. So, expect eye-ball grabbing and irresistible deals when it is rolled out.

JioPhone Next Display

Both Reliance Jio and Google have kept details about the upcoming smartphone under wraps as of now. But the images shared by two companies hint towards the JioPhone Next coming with a plastic body and an LCD display. The phone has extremely thick bezels on the top and on the bottom and narrow bezels on the sides. The front camera and the earpiece are placed in the top bezel of the phone.

JioPhone Next Camera

At the back, the JioPhone Next has a vertically stacked camera setup that is placed on the top centre part of the phone. The phone has a single rear camera with an LED flash that is placed in a pill-shaped camera module, which is placed on top of the circular Jio logo that is placed in the centre of the phone's back.

The upcoming JioPhone Next will come with a tailored camera app that will support features such as night mode and HDR. Reliance Jio has also built Snapchat filters within the app. Reliance Jio said that Google has also partnered with Snap to integrate Indian-specific Snapchat Lenses directly into the phone's camera, and we will continue to update this experience.

JioPhone Next OS

Coming to the features, Google and Reliance Jio have revealed that the JioPhone Next will run on a modified version of Android OS. While the two companies haven't shared the exact version of Android OS the phone will be running, the Camera Go app on the phone, which can be seen in one of the images shared by the company, indicates that the JioPhone Next will run on Android Go.

Google says that it will deliver important updates to the JioPhone Next over-the-air.

JioPhone Next Language Support

In addition to this, the JioPhone Next will feature support for Indian languages. The phone will also feature support for Read Aloud and Translate Now features, which the two companies say, will work with any text on their phone screen, including web pages, apps, messages, and even photos. The JioPhone Next will also feature support for Google Assistant. Users can also ask Google Assistant to play music on JioSaavn or check their balance on My Jio.

Reliance Jio Data plans

When it came, Reliance Jio instantly killed off a huge number of telecom companies, leaving just three. Reliance Jio itself, Airtel and Vodafone. It played the role of the disruptor not just by offering extremely affordable data, but also providing JioPhone ''virtually free''. That kind of irresistible deal is what many are looking at now for Reliance Jio to deliver.