Reliance Jio eyeing half billion smartphone users in India with its budget phone

Reliance’s budget phone is targeted at 520 million smartphone users in India, according to Counterpoint research. This estimate includes elderly, children and the poor. Additionally, 60-65 million existing 4G Jio phone users may upgrade their phone to Reliance’s budget smartphone, the firm noted.

“Reliance Jio will look to first attract millions of feature phone users to its 4G network via the JioPhone Next and then some portion of the next half a billion population who are yet to buy their first mobile phone,” Counterpoint said in a statement.

But Jio needs to present an attractive value proposition to help potential 4G smartphone users “cross the chasm” as the pandemic has impacted livelihoods of people who are at the bottom of the pyramid. The research firm notes that Jio could use EMI, buyback, cashback and other attractive deals to bring new customers into its ecosystem.

Counterpoint expects JioPhone Next to be the cheapest Android smartphone available in India, and if Jio and Google subsidise the phone to under Rs 3730, it could make “a killer deal”. The current cheapest Android smartphone Itel A23 sells at around Rs 3800.

“This upcoming phone will definitely cause a stir in the market,” Nakul Kumar, chief operating officer & co-founder, Cashify told The Hindu. Cashify enables selling old gadgets, including smartphones, online.

This new made-in-India product could give a strong competition to brands like Xiaomi, Realme, Lava, & Micromax, Kumar noted. TheHindu