Reliance Jio is reportedly planning to produce over 200 million smartphones by 2022 and is expected to sell it at an entry-level price of $54 (~Rs 4,000) in India. As a part of it’s Rs 33,737 crore ($4.5 billion) investment deal
According to a report by Bloomberg that cites people in the know-how of these things, Jio Platforms is planning to manufacture over 200 million smartphones by the next two years. As per previous reports, the company had initially aimed to manufacture 100 million smartphones, allegedly launching them by the end of December 2020. However, the new development indicates that the company has asked its local suppliers to ramp up its production capabilities to adjust the revised goal.
The company is reportedly in talks with domestic manufacturers like Lava, Karbonn and Dixon as well as global players such as Foxconn and Wistron. As the company eyes an increased production capacity, the final order for the $50 Android phone is expected to be distributed amongst two or more manufacturers in India.
Moreover, Jio’s entry-level smartphone is expected to come bundled with tariff plans that will help it increase its subscriber base by millions as India is home to over 350 million 2G users. Interestingly, Reliance Jio recently announced its new Jio Postpaid Plus service that offers internet data, unlimited calling and subscription to OTT services like Netflix, Prime Video and more, starting at Rs 399.
The company’s foray into the smartphone segment happened with the JioPhone back in July 2017 and was followed by the JioPhone 2 in July 2018. With the two feature phones, Jio was able to attract over 100 million users, however, now users on feature phones also want to jump on the smartphone bandwagon.
Reliance has raised more than Rs 152,000 crores under its digital arm Jio Platforms in 2020 from various companies and investment firms such as Facebook, Google, Silver Lake, Qualcomm, to name a few.
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