Reliance Jio's affordable 5G Phone launch is expected this week

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The new 5G phone is being developed with Google and expected to cost less than $100.

Reliance Jio
(Image credit: Reliance Jio)

Reliance Industries Ltd is expected to launch a new affordable 5G phone next week, which is likely to be the cheapest of all 5G phones currently on the market and also potentially set to undercut the price of current 4G phones too. The company announces all of its launches for the year at its AGM, which this year falls on June 24, where the unveiling of a super affordable laptop, with built-in 4G connectivity, is also expected.

Some reports have suggested that Jio’s new 5G phone could be priced as competitively as Rs. 5,000 but there’s no way to know if these are credible reports or just speculation. However, we are expecting the new 5G phone to come it around Rs. 7000, as we expect that Jio is planning to enter the 5G market offering the cheapest 5G phone priced under $100. With other brands including Realme promising to bring cheaper 5G phones to India, Jio will want to claim its spot from the get-go.

Google partnership

Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries’ managing director announced that tech giant Google had purchased 7.7% stake in the company, at last year’s AGM. It was announced then that the partnership involved developing a cheap 5G smartphone, so we know the new offering will have been developed in partnership with Google.

5G phone specs

Reliance has leaked no information ahead of the launch, for specs or availability. However, we do know it’s definitely a budget 5G phone, so to keep the price as low as possible we assume it’ll be have modest specifications.

Google and Jio are working together to create a superlight version of Android for entry-level devices and it’s reported to be even lighter than Android Go – we will expect this to be rolled out for the new 5G phone.

As well as the budget 5G phone, Google and Jio are working together on a budget 4G phone. However, recent reports suggest that both companies are facing problems with the manufacturing process due to the global chipset shortage. So, while we still expect the new cheap 5G phone to launch at the AGM, if the reports are to be believed, initially they’ll be a limited inventory.

Reliance Jio has also been conducting trials for its 5G network, with the first trial in Gurugram's Cyber Hub. The company may make the big announcement of officially bringing 5G to India at its AGM too.

Rachael Sharpe
Rachael Sharpe

Rachael is a British journalist with 17 years experience in the publishing industry. Since launching www.digitalcameraworld.com, she’s been freelancing, and working for some of the world’s best-loved websites and magazines including T3.com and TechRadar.com and has also had a book, iPad for Photographers, published. A regular contributor at 5Gradar, Rachael is following the 5G market closely. Find out more at www.rachaelsharpe.com