JioPhone Next was scheduled to be launched on September 10, which was much awaited by everyone. But Reliance Jio recently issued a statement that it will take some more time to launch the JioPhone Next and this is due to the shortage of global chip shortage. The company has announced that the smartphone will be made available to the general public in India before Diwali.
Reliance Jio had partnered with Google to build the Jio Phone Next and at present both the companies have also started testing it with limited users. Both the companies are working very fast to make this smartphone widely available before Diwali.
Jio also made a statement that “this additional time will also help mitigate the current industry-wide, global semiconductor shortages.”
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Talking to ET, Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint, says, “If we analyse the impact of component shortage by price tier, the entry-level price tier is the most impacted. The price of certain components have increased by almost 20% but it’s not just about the price the lead time to procure these components have also increased significantly like from 8 weeks earlier to almost 16 to 20 weeks in for some of the components”.
He further added, “This could also mean the first Jiophone Next version could have limited shelf-life before it starts focusing on new SKUs for the next year as components availability and price is likely to remain challenging for next 6-8 months. Also this impacts the pricing strategy of JioPhone Next on how much needs to be absorbed from subsidy point of view.”
Analysts also say that now Reliance Jio will have to ensure proper procurement of the smartphone components, so as to avoid any further delays. After all, a shortage of components could lead to an increase in the prices of this affordable smartphone. In such a situation, the company will have to make all efforts to fasten the supply chain of chips as soon as it can.
Reliance Industries (RIL) has currently placed an order for initial production of JioPhone Next 4G to Bengaluru-based company UTL Neolync. The smartphone is expected to cost up to ₹3,500 and with such a price tag, the company is also trying to attract more 2G users to its network.
On the other hand, in the time leading to the upcoming launch, the company can sort out any kinks it has noticed during testing.
JioPhone Next Specifications
JioPhone Next will be a Dual 4G SIM phone. On the front, it will come with an HD+ display (1440×720 pixels) engulfed in slightly thick bezels. The front camera could be an 8-megapixel selfie sensor while the back could house a 13-megapixel shooter. The company is said to offer an entry-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 chipset with a clock speed of 1.3GHz.
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On the software side, it will have a custom version of Android with pre-installed Google Duo and Google camera Go. It will also include smart features like Google Assistant, Language Translation, Built-in AR Filter. There is no mention of memory configuration in the leaks, but it is expected to bring 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.
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