Jio and Google's jointly developed and designed JioPhone Next – the made-for-India smartphone will be available in stores from Diwali, adding to the festive cheer in the country.

JioPhone Next is the most affordable smartphone globally with an entry price of only ₹1,999 and the rest can be paid via easy EMI over 18 and 24 months. The full price of the device is Rs 6,499. A unique financing option like this is being introduced for the first time for a device in this category, making it accessible for a much wider set of consumers.

With features that are unprecedented in any phone in this category, JioPhone Next will be available across the country at Reliance Retail's extensive network of JioMart Digital retail locations. The JioPhone Next has an HD+ display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 processor, and runs Pragati OS.

Commenting on this milestone, Google, and Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai, said, "The JioPhone Next is an affordable smartphone designed for India, inspired by the belief that everyone in India should benefit from the opportunities the internet creates. To build it, our teams had to work together to solve complex engineering and design challenges, and I'm excited to see how millions of people will use these devices to better their lives and communities."

Ensuring every Indian gets an equal opportunity and equal access to digital technology, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Industries, Mr. Mukesh D Ambani said, "I am delighted that Google and Jio teams have succeeded in bringing this breakthrough device to Indian consumers in time for the festival season, in spite of the current global supply chain challenges caused by the Covid pandemic. I have always been a firm believer in the power of the Digital Revolution to enrich, enable and empower the lives of 1.35 billion Indians. We have done it in the past with connectivity. Now we are enabling it again with a smartphone device.

Google and Jio have contributed complementary assets and experience to jointly develop the JioPhone Next which has been built to cater to the diverse needs of the Indian consumer. The embedded voice-first features will enable all Indians to consume content and navigate the phone in their language of choice.

Some of the unique features of the phone include voice-first capabilities, 'Read Aloud' functionality, 'Translate Now' services that enable the user to have any screen translated to the 10 popularly spoken Indian languages, easy and smart camera, and access to million apps.

JioMart Digital's network of more than 30,000 retail partners is empowered to provide the JioPhone Next with a paperless digital financing option, extending to the remotest corners of the country, making it geographically accessible to every Indian.