At the 44th Annual General Meeting, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd., announced made-for-India smartphone called JioPhone Next which is jointly developed with Google. This 4G phone has been developed by Google and Jio to enable users to consume content and navigate the phone in their preferred language. This phone will run on optimized version of Android. It will also deliver a good camera experience, and users will get the latest Android features and security updates. This phone will start rolling-out in India from 10th September onwards. The price of this phone and details have not been revealed yet.
Some of Salient Features of JioPhone Next:
This phone will be ideal for those who will not be able to read content in their language. With a tap of a button they can now translate what’s on their screen, and even have it read back to them in their own language. Read Aloud and Translate Now are now OS-wide features that will work with any text on their phone screen, including web pages, apps, messages, and even photos. Using App Actions, people can utilize their Google Assistant to deliver a great experience with many of the Jio apps on this device. In addition to asking for the latest cricket scores or a weather update, users can also ask Google Assistant to play music on JioSaavn or check their balance on My Jio.
This phone has been built for an optimized experience within the phone’s Camera module resulting in great photos and videos: from clearer photos at night and in low-light situations to HDR mode that brings out wider color and dynamic range in photos, these are firsts for affordable phones in India. Google has also partnered with Snap to integrate Indian-specific Snapchat Lenses directly into the phone’s camera.
Along with support for the latest Android releases and security updates, this phone will keep getting better with new features and customizations, all delivered over-the-air. With Google Play Protect built in, it has Google’s world-class security and malware protection. And with the Google Play Store, users will have access to millions of apps that people across the world use.
Announcing the phone, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said, ” JIO has truly democratized digital connectivity in India… by offering the highest quality, most affordable 4G broadband services in the world. Google and Jio teams have jointly developed a truly breakthrough smartphone that we are calling JioPhone Next. JioPhone Next is powered by an extremely optimized version of the Android operating system. While being ultra-affordable, JioPhone Next is packed with cutting-edge features like the Google Assistant, automatic read-aloud of screen text, language translation, smart camera with augmented reality filters and much more. This is testimony to a global technology company and a national technology champion working jointly to make a break-through product. JioPhone Next will be available in the market from the auspicious date of Ganesh Chaturthi, 10TH SEPTEMBER, this year.”
Speaking about the joint effort, Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet said, “Our vision is to bring affordable access to information for Indians in their own language, to build new products and services for India’s unique needs, and to empower businesses with technology. I’m excited that today, we can announce the next steps in this vision, starting with a new, affordable Jio smartphone, created with Google. Our teams have optimized a version of our Android OS especially for this device. It will offer language and translation features, a great camera, and support for the latest Android updates. It is built for India and it will open up new possibilities for millions of new users who will experience the internet for the very first time.”
