Reliance Jio to ‘soon announce’ next JioPhone pre-booking date

Reports have surfaced online claiming that Reliance Jio has stopped production of the JioPhone.

Earlier today, reports surfaced online claiming that Reliance Jio has stopped production of the JioPhone as the company shifts focus to the Android ecosystem. When you look at the scale and reach of Android, this move makes sense. But turns out that is not the case, at least for now.

BGR India reached out to a person with insider knowledge who claims that production of the Reliance JioPhone is very much on track. In fact, the company is looking at delivering the device to the 6 million who pre-ordered. Moreover, the company will also soon announce a new date for the pre-orders to begin again.

This is reiterated in a statement sent to BGR India by Reliance Jio’s spokesperson, which says, “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.”

Our source further says that Reliance Jio is in talks with developers to come up with popular apps that are compatible with KaiOS. Despite being a feature phone, the JioPhone does bring a lot to the table, courtesy of Jio’s suite of apps. But one bone of contention has been the lack of popular apps such as WhatsAppand Facebook among others. Once a variant of these apps are launched for the JioPhone, there is no reason why it couldn’t offer an experience that can rival entry-level Android smartphones.

There is no denying that Reliance Jio has taken the market by storm with its ‘effectively priced Rs zero’ JioPhone. But lately, incumbent telecom companies have put their hats in the ring by launching uber-affordable smartphones with bundled tariff plans. Airtel has joined hands with the likes of Karbonn and Celkon to launch such entry-level smartphones, while Vodafone too is reportedly doing the same.