The Jio Phone Next launch details have been finally revealed officially by the company, ending a wait that lasted months. The smartphone’s price is set at Rs 6,499 officially, a far cry from the expectations of Rs 3,499 and under that were floating around in the market so far. However, with an EMI scheme that the company is offering for the Jio Phone Next, the smartphone can be purchased with a down payment of Rs 1,999. Buyers will have the option to opt for EMIs lasting 18 months or 24 months. Let’s take a look at the Jio Phone Next EMI plans the company has announced.
Jio Phone Next EMI plans explained
With the EMI plans, the company is adding the handset cost and the data costs in one monthly price. Jio Phone Next EMI plans are spread across four tiers, namely Always-on, Large, XL, and XXL. All four plans come with bundled calling and data, and it is the latter that is the differentiating factor between the four plans. So that means you will get bundled data and calling if you opt for the EMI option with the smartphone. However, you will have to pay a Rs 501 processing fee as well with the smartphone.
Always-on plan
In the Always-on Jio Phone Next EMI plan, you will get only 5GB of data per month, along with 100 minutes of bundled calling. However, this plan is unlikely to be enough for the data-hungry Indian populace. Under this plan, you will have to pay Rs 350 per month for 18 months (or Rs 6,300 in total) or go for the 2-year payment plan at Rs 300 a month (Rs 7,200 cumulatively). Add to this the down payment and the processing fee and the effective Jio Phone Next price goes up to Rs 9,700!
| Price | Duration | EMIs paid | Total paid |
| Rs 300 | 24 months | Rs 6,300 | Rs 9,700 |
| Rs 350 | 18 months | Rs 7,200 | Rs 8,800 |
In comparison, if you were to purchase the smartphone without EMI and got 6GB data pack priced at Rs 51, you would end up paying just Rs 1,326 over a 2-year period. Add to that the cost of the handset, and you get savings of up to Rs 1,875.
Large EMI plan
Next up is the Large Jio Phone Next EMI plan. This one offers you EMIs of Rs 450 for 24 months (total Rs 10,800) or Rs 500 for 18 months (total Rs 9,000). In lieu of that, you get unlimited calling and 1.5GB data per day, which will make the plan a more attractive proposition than the entry-level Always-on option.
| Price | Duration | EMIs paid | Total paid |
| Rs 450 | 24 months | Rs 10,800 | Rs 13,300 |
| Rs 500 | 18 months | Rs 7,200 | Rs 9,700 |
Instead of the Large EMI plan, if you were to purchase the Rs 199 Jio pack with 1.5GB data per day, you would end up paying Rs 11,673 over a 24-month period. This would translate to savings of Rs 1,627 over the 2-year EMI plan. On the other hand, on the 18-month plan you will end up saving Rs 381.
XL plan
In the XL Jio Phone Next EMI plan, the daily data allowance gets upped to 2GB per day and the calling remains unlimited. To get this plan, you need to pay Rs 500 for 24 months or Rs 550 for 18 months, totalling Rs 12,000 and Rs 9,900 respectively.
| Price | Duration | EMIs paid | Total paid |
| Rs 500 | 24 months | Rs 12,000 | Rs 14,500 |
| Rs 550 | 18 months | Rs 9,900 | Rs 12,400 |
The Jio pack with 2GB daily data allowance is priced at Rs 249 per month, so you will end up spending Rs 6,474 on recharges over a 2-year period. That means you will end up saving Rs 1,527 compared to the 24-month EMI plan. However, if you opt for the 18-month EMI option, you will enjoy savings of Rs 573.
XXL plan
Last in the list of Jio Phone Next EMI plans is the XXL option, which gives you 2.5GB data every day for a month as well as unlimited calls. For this, you can either pay Rs 550 for 24 months or Rs 600 for 18 months, which amount to Rs 13,200 and Rs 10,800, respectively.
| Price | Duration | EMIs paid | Total paid |
| Rs 550 | 24 months | Rs 13,200 | Rs 15,700 |
| Rs 600 | 18 months | Rs 10,800 | Rs 13,300 |
There’s no 2.5GB per day data pack in Jio’s portfolio, so the closest we get to that is 3GB per day, which costs Rs 349. This means, for the 24-month duration, you end up paying Rs 15,573 in total, translating to savings of Rs 825. Similarly, you will save Rs 519 if you compare the monthly recharges vs the EMI options.
So with the EMIs, you can end up paying as much as Rs 15,700 for a smartphone that costs Rs 6,499. Granted, you get bundled data with these EMI options, but you still end up saving some money even upon purchasing the most expensive monthly recharge packs.
| EMI plan | EMI final price | Non-EMI price | Savings |
| Always-on | Rs 9,700 | Rs 7,825 | Rs 1,875 |
| Large | Rs 13,300 | Rs 11,673 | Rs 1,627 |
| XL | Rs 14,500 | Rs 12,973 | Rs 1,627 |
| XXL | Rs 15,700 | Rs 15,573 | Rs 127 |
Jio Phone Next goes on sale in India on November 4th at a price of Rs 6,499 on flat one-time payment or with Rs 1,999 down payment + EMIs, as detailed above. Buyers are required to register their interest for the smartphone with Jio on the official site, though the link is not yet live. They can also register interest by sending a ‘Hi’ on 70182-70182 on WhatsApp.
As for the features and specifications, Jio Phone Next sports a 5.45-inch HD+ display and is powered by the custom-made Android-based PragatiOS. It runs on the 1.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 215 chipset with 2GB RAM, with 32GB internal storage and up to 512GB microSD card support. The smartphone packs a 13MP sensor on the back and an 8MP lens in the front. Battery capacity of the smartphone is going to be quite limited considering it’s a 3,500mAh cell.
