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Business News/ Industry / Telecom/  JioPhone Next pricing may be a challenge due to rise in component cost: Analysts
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JioPhone Next pricing may be a challenge due to rise in component cost: Analysts

Reliance Industries announced that it would launch JioPhone Next on 10 September
  • JioPhone Next is powered by an optimized version of Android, which has been jointly developed by Reliance Jio and Google
  • RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said the launch of the 'ultra-affordable' smartphone will help users who have not experienced faster internet speeds. (MINT_PRINT)Premium
    RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said the launch of the 'ultra-affordable' smartphone will help users who have not experienced faster internet speeds. (MINT_PRINT)

    Mumbai: Pricing of the Google and Reliance Jio's co-developed smartphone--JioPhone Next-- may be a challenge given that prices of microprocessor and display are up 80% and 40%, respectively in recent months, while shipping costs from China have also risen significantly.

    This is said to drive the smartphone’s cost up by 15%. Currently, the cheapest 4G smartphone is priced at around 3,800, while costs for those from pedigreed brands start from around 6,000.

    "Jio is targeting the 4000 price point for JioPhone Next, and we believe that rising component prices could make this challenging and potentially raise the subsidy element," said IIFL Securities in a report dated 25 June.

    On Thursday, at the company's annual general meeting, Reliance Industries announced that it would launch JioPhone Next on 10 September.

    JioPhone Next is powered by an optimized version of Android, which has been jointly developed by Reliance Jio and Google.

    Google and Jio teams have jointly developed the smartphone. A fully-featured smartphone, it will support the entire suite of applications from both Google and Jio, as well as the Android Play Store.

    RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said the launch of the “ultra-affordable" smartphone will help users who have not experienced faster internet speeds. He also reiterated his stance on a 2G-mukt Bharat (2G-free India). Jio targets the transition of India’s 300 million 2G subscribers to 4G in the next 12-18 months.

    Analysts said given the shortage of critical components such as displays and chipsets in the market, procurement time for such components has risen to 60-75 days from 45-60 days earlier because of shortages in China. Against this backdrop, the launch date of JioPhone Next as early as 10 September is a positive surprise.

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    Published: 25 Jun 2021, 05:31 PM IST
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