Jio Phone Next specifications, sale date, rumoured price, and everything else we know so far

Here’s a roundup of the much-anticipated Jio and Google smartphone, JioPhone Next, which was announced at Reliance AGM 2021 back in June. Jio Phone Next is the first smartphone from Jio and it comes after the 2018 Jio Phone 2 (review). The newest device comes with a touchscreen display instead of a QWERTY keypad. The JioPhone Next also runs a new and optimised version of the Android operating system with support for Google Play Store. Jio Phone Next price in India has not been revealed yet, but the company hints it is going to be priced aggressively in the country. The smartphone is aimed at helping the roughly 300 million 2G feature phone users in India to make the jump to a 4G smartphone. Let’s take a quick look at the Jio Phone Next sale date, expected price in India, and specifications.

JioPhone Next launch date in India

The first Jio Phone Next sale date in India is scheduled for September 10th. The handset will most likely be available across the country via leading e-stores, the Jio website, Jio Stores, and other Jio outlets. The Jio Phone will most likely come in black and blue colour options.

Jio Phone Next price in India

The company is yet to announce the Jio Phone Next price in India and sale offers. However, as per a report by ET Telecom, analysts believes that the handset could be priced at around Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000. If so, it’ll be in line with the Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani claim that the smartphone will be ‘by far the most affordable smartphone not just in India, but globally.’ For those unaware, the iTel A53 Pro is currently among the cheapest 4G smartphones in India. The handset was launched back in May with Rs 4,999 price tag.

As with previous Jio Phones offers, we expect the Jio Phone Next to also come with an exchange offer or a refundable security deposit fee.

Jio Phone Next specifications

The company hasn’t revealed full Jio Phone Next specifications yet but said it will include voice assistant support, translation features, and a camera supporting augmented reality. The phone will run on an optimized version of Android OS designed specifically for the device, which is believed to be similar to Google’s low-powered Android Go operating system. Folks at XDA developers spotted the Jio Phone Next using the Go-version of the Google Camera app. It’s likely that the Jio Phone may come with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Jio apps pre-installed. Needless to say that the Jio Phone Next will work with only Jio SIM.

As for the Jio Phone Next design, the handset will sport a tall touchscreen display with bulky bezels, similar to 16:9 and 18:9 aspect ratio displays back in the days. The top bezel of the phone seems to house a front-facing camera, earpiece, and proximity sensor. Around the back, the Jio Phone Next employs a rear-facing camera with LED flash, aligned vertically at the centre just above Jio’s logo. There is also a speaker grille, and it looks like the back panel of the phone will be removable. The volume rocker and power button will be on the right spine.

Jio hasn’t revealed the top edges and bottom edges of the phone yet, so we can’t confirm whether the phone will have a micro USB port or Type-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack. The left spine of the phone will be as clean as a slate.

Jio Phone Next plans

It remains to be seen whether the Jio Phone Next plans will be the same as JioPhone 2 and JioPhone 1 plans. If it does, you will have five prepaid plans, with up to 336 days validity and 56GB data, to choose from. Here are the details: