Reliance’s digital arm, Jio Platforms, has launched two new 4G-enabled handsets that offer access to live TV, music and video streaming as well as host the ability to make digital payments, all for a price tag of 1099 rupees ($13), as India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani pushes to woo the hundreds of millions of people who are still relying on slower 2G networks.
The JioBharat V3 and JioBharat V4, successors to last year’s JioBharat model, feature 1.77-inch displays, 48MB of RAM, 128MB of internal storage (expandable up to 128GB), and 1,000mAh batteries. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that Jio has manufactured the phones.
While these specs are decidedly entry-level, raw power isn’t the primary focus of these devices.
Instead, these phones represent Jio Platform’s strategic push to capture the next 100 million users in India – those for whom even a $50 smartphone remains out of reach. Hundreds of millions of Indians are still locked on 2G network.
Jio Platforms, backed by tech giants Google and Meta, already dominates as India’s largest telecom network with about 490 million paying subscribers. Its push with feature phones could further help the firm make deeper inroads in the world’s most populous nation.
The handsets — available to purchase from physical retail stores, JioMart and Amazon — feature access to JioTV, JioCinema and JioSavvn. JioTV offers Jio subscribers access to over 450 channels at no additional charge. JioCinema is among the largest video streaming services in India and has exclusive tie-ups with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. It also has the digital rights to stream the popular IPL cricket tournaments.
The JioBharat V3 and JioBharat V4 will only work on the Jio network — a strategy Reliance has been focusing on to make more people primarily reliant on its platform. In India, the vast majority of smartphones allow customers to have two SIM cards — contract with two carriers.
Jio’s feature phones are aimed at capturing “the new set of subscribers where Jio would be the primary connectivity provider and not the second SIM as it was in the urban market in FY17,” analysts at Bernstein wrote in a note last week.
“The phone is targeted at ~250 Mn customers in tier II and tier III cities and towns who have not been able to transition to 4G phones, in most cases due to the entry level prices of these phones. The new set of subscribers are also coming from this segment and Jio hopes to capture this segment.”
The voice and data monthly plan on JioBharat costs 123 rupees, or $1.5, and packs 14GB of data usage.
