Google CEO Sundar Pichai has confirmed the launch of JioPhone Next smartphone by Diwali. He spoke candidly about the budget device and the digital transformation in India.

The Jiophone Next features premium localised capabilities and is on track to launch in-market by Diwali, Pichai said.

Pichai, the Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet - the parent company of Google, said Google has made progress "with the made-for-India affordable smartphone co-developed with Reliance".

"On India, I think, obviously, the COVID pandemic has been hard. But through it all, the people are looking for access and there's definitely been a wave of people who have adopted smartphones, and there is still -- we see the demand for people looking to shift from feature phones to smartphones," Pichai said.

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. "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 elaborated.

Earlier in June, while talking about JioPhone Next, Pichai had said, "Our teams have optimised a version of our Android OS, especially for this device... Our vision was to bring affordable access to information for Indians in their own language, to build new products and services for India's unique needs, and to empower businesses with technology."

Like the first two Jio Phones, the JioPhone Next will also target low-income consumers in India. It is most likely to be priced below Rs 5,000. According to media reports, the smartphone will cost Rs 3,499 in India.

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.

JioPhone Next will come with an HD+ display that supports 320 DPI (dots per inch) screen density. The screen size is expected to be 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.

Disclosure: RIL, the promoter of Reliance Jio, also controls Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com.

First Published:Oct 27, 2021 9:36 AM IST