Reliance Industries Limited’s telecom arm Jio has collaborated with Google to launch one of India’s cheapest 4G smartphones that they touted would cost 3,499 INR. Reports from today have suggested that Reliance Jio may have to increase subsidies for its low-cost smartphone after all.

The JioPhone Next is one of many devices whose production has been affected due to the global semiconductor shortage and an increase in overall component costs.

The launch of the JioPhone Next has been pushed back to somewhere around Diwali without any specific date. Jio had originally hoped to release the device on the 10th of September.

JioPhone Next may come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 chipset

According to IIFL Securities, Reliance may need to increase its subsidies for JioPhone Next from a total of 150 Billion INR to 187.5 billion INR. That is an increase of 25%, so that would roughly amount to 2,500 INR for each device, up from the initial 2,000 INR.

UBS has noted in a report that Reliance is struggling to lower the costs of BOM to under $50 for the JioPhone Next.

The Reliance JioPhone Next is expected to arrive in an attractive design with significant bezels around the display and a single rear camera and a selfie shooter as well.

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The device has exclusively been made for people who currently have 2G devices and are looking to upgrade to a 4G device at a lower price. The JioPhone Next comes preloaded with Read Aloud and Translate Now features. It supports Google Assistant for voice-enabled features.

Further, Google has partnered with Snapchat to integrate India exclusive Snapchat Lenses into the phone’s camera. The Phone runs on Android 11 Go Edition and has a 5.5″ display. It is expected to come with a 2GB/3GB RAM variant with 16GB/32GB of internal storage.

As mentioned, Reliance intends to sell the device for 3,500 INR per piece.

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