Jio inks deal with Google over entry-level 4G, 5G smartphones
By MYBRANDBOOK
On Wednesday, Reliance Jio entered into a commercial pact with Google to jointly develop entry-level affordable 4G and possibly 5G smartphones in the future with an aim to make India ‘2G-mukt’ or free of 2G technology. Under the partnership, Google will provide optimizations to its Android operating system and the Play Store for smartphones that Jio will launch in the market
Google is aiming to take the affordable smartphones and services developed out of its partnership with Reliance Jio to the rest of the world, a senior executive said.
“We want to work with Jio and other leaders in the local ecosystem to ensure that smartphones—together with the apps and services in the Play Store—are within reach for many more Indians across the country. And we believe the pace of Indian innovation means that the experiences we create for India can ultimately be expanded to the rest of the world,” said Sameer Samat, Vice President of Product Management, Android and Google Play.
“We believe we can design entry-level 4G or even 5G smartphone for a fraction of its current cost. To power such a value-engineered smartphone, we also need an equally value-engineered operating system and such an operating system must be designed from grounds-up,” Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, said in a speech at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting Wednesday, held virtually.
Google and Jio are partnering to build just such a smartphone operating system right here in India, Ambani said, adding that that there is a need to accelerate the migration of 350 million Indians, who currently use a 2G feature phone, to an affordable smartphone.
This is the second attempt by Jio to launch own-branded smartphones, having previously launched ‘Lyf’ branded smartphones to quickly bring subscribers to its network after the launch. Even Google had previously made efforts with the Android One program to capture the entry-level smartphone user base, but didn't succeed. Reliance Jio Phone 3 may launch on July 15
Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, said that the partnership will target the sub- Rs 10,000 segment, which sells anywhere close to 60 million smartphones in one year. Jio has the potential to undercut its rivals in pricing as has been seen before. “Google's partnership will give it more flexibility to offer stable hardware and software experience”.
Jio may well end up launching the cheapest operator bundled 5G devices worldwide. Currently, China Mobile and other few operators have launched 5G branded devices in the mid-tier segment, quoted Pathak.
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