Has Reliance Jio stopped the production of the free JioPhone?

Reliance Jio caused a storm when it announced a 4G feature phone for the masses in the country. The company is currently in the process of delivering the feature phones to the customers and starting the next round of pre-booking for the phones. But, according to a report in Factor Daily, the company is going to stop the production of the 4G feature phone, to bring a cheap and cost-effective Android smartphone.

A Reliance Jio spokesperson, in a statement, refuted the report and said that the next pre-booking date will be announced soon. “JioPhone, ‘India ka smartphone’ is committed to fulfilling the country’s digital vision. Jio welcomes the initial 6 million Indians who are moving to digital life with the JioPhone and will soon announce the next JioPhone booking date."

The JioPhone runs on KaiOS, which is a version of Firefox OS. The Factor Daily report cites the lack of apps supported by KaiOS as the reason behind switching over to Android. As of now, the JioPhone does not have support for either Facebook and WhatsApp, among other apps. A company insider told Factor Daily, "There aren't enough apps compatible with the KaiOS but people are working on developing special versions of the JioPhone." Reliance Jio is in talks with Facebook and Google to bring Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube in the JioPhone.

The Factor Daily report does not give details whether Reliance will discontinue JioPhone after it launches the Android smartphone. As of now, there are no details regarding the pricing strategy of the Android smartphone. But it is rumored that Reliance Jio will follow the same pattern as Airtel and Vodafone did with the Karbonn A40 Indian and Micromax Bharat 2 Ultra, respectively.

Read more about Reliance Jio 4G mobile phone here:

https://www.ciol.com/reliance-jio-stopped-production-free-jiophone/

https://www.ciol.com/bookings-relaince-jio-4g-mobile-phone-resume-diwali/

https://www.ciol.com/reliance-jio-revamps-data-plans/

https://www.ciol.com/when-is-your-free-reliance-jio-4g-mobile-phone-arriving/