To bridge the digital divide, it is important to reduce the cost of mobile handsets while offering affordable data plans in India. While most of the major smartphone brands have almost given up on the low-end smartphone market due to negligible returns, Reliance Jio In 2017 took a bold step by launching a “smart feature phone” called JioPhone running on KaiOS.
JioPhone offered an affordable arrangement for 2G mobile users to upgrade to 4G network and experience mobile internet. But it soon became clear that the JioPhone – which looks like a feature – is not enough to join the mobile economy. The reason is simple– you need to be on either Android Or on iOS if you really intend to be called a smartphone user. This is because you need access to the apps that were missing on JioPhone and not Apple Nor is any popular Android OEM interested in launching a $30 smartphone.
balancing costs and expectations
Unlike JioPhone and JioPhone 2 powered by KaiOS, the new JioPhone Next Android is powered by a stripped down variant of the operating system. It is not a full blown android phone but it is something like an android phone and the biggest advantage is that users will get access to Google play store. Not all games and apps will be accessible but at least some of them will be.
Given the high prices of chips, battery, camera module, launching a full blown Android phone under Rs 3,000 is a huge cost challenge, whatever the scale. Also, some minimum hardware requirements are required to run Android 10 or 11 on a smartphone. Jio’s partnership with Google is all about balancing expectations and costs.
Google has said that it will provide a customized version of Android without revealing more details. In other words, it will be a lightweight version of Android with only essential Google services, basic features, and access to the Google Play store. Also, Google needs to optimize the software so that it can work well on low-end hardware. To make the deal sweeter, Google has promised to provide timely software and security updates.
Jio phone next will help believe Jio gets more customers and for Google, this means expanding the user base for Google services. Plus, users will benefit from a low-cost device that provides access to Android apps.
300 million 2G mobile users in India
It is 2021 and India still has over 300 million 2G feature phone users. Now, there is a huge cost constraint that is worrying 2G users and mobile brands as well. For these 300 million 2G mobile users, they cannot afford to spend Rs 5000 or more on an Android smartphone that can last them about 18 months. And for most brands, launching cheap smartphones, especially in the Rs 5,000 price range, means little margin to play with. With intense competition, it is difficult for brands to cater to this segment of users.
Now, Reliance has tried to pitch in with JioPhone at an “effective” launch price of zero in three years when someone paid Rs 1,500. But with KaiOS, using a feature phone was just as good, except for the fact that people got to use WhatsApp, Facebook, and play some games. The next generation JioPhone 2 with QWERTY keypad that was launched at Rs 3,000 didn’t make much noise either. So, it was clear that JioPhone needs to offer Android in order to be marketable. In this case, if not Android then something that can get the job done and deliver the required apps.
Reliance JioPhone Next up at an affordable price point is promising a lot—access to Android apps, software support from Google, better cameras, and a bigger touch screen display. On paper, JioPhone Next seems like the ideal solution for the price, but we can talk about the reality only after September 10, when it will become available.
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