Sundar Pichai ‘confirms’ JioPhone Next to launch by Diwali – Times of India

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has confirmed the launch of the JioPhone Next smartphone by Diwali. He spoke about the budget device and the digital transformation in India, during the quarterly earning call of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. “The Jiophone Next features premium localised capabilities and is on track to launch in-market by Diwali” he said.
Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, said Google has made progress “with the made-for-India affordable smartphone co-developed with Reliance”. Like the first two Jio Phones, this one will also target low-income consumers in India. It is most likely to be priced below Rs 5,000. According to the reports, the smartphone will cost Rs 3,499 in India.
Jiophone Next expected specifications
JioPhone Next is expected to come with an HD+ display that supports 320 DPI (dots per inch) screen density. The screen size is expected to be around 5.5 inches with an 18:9 aspect ratio. Besides, the smartphone will have a 2500mAh battery, an 8-megapixel front camera, and a 13-megapixel rear camera that supports AR filters.
JioPhone Next is likely to run on Android Go, a watered-down version of Android. The dual SIM smartphone is expected to have up to 3GB RAM and up to 32GB of internal storage capacity. It is likely to be powered by a Snapdragon 215 processor that comes with 4 Cortex-A53 cores and an integrated Adreno 306 GPU.
Pichai added that he is excited about the partnership with Jio in “building a phone and really investing beyond just English and getting languages and getting the local right for people and doing it in a way that many more people can take advantage of a smartphone”.
He emphasised that the device will open up new possibilities for millions of new users who will experience the internet for the very first time. He mentioned, “So I view it (the launch of JioPhone Next) as laying the foundation. It’s a version of digital transformation and palpable, the demand we see. And I think over a 3- to 5-year time frame, it will end up having a lot of impact. But overall, India, just like the Asia Pacific continues to be an exciting market for us. We see strength across the categories we are involved in. And so you’ll continue to see us stay focused there,” he added.