The phone was supposed to go on sale on September 10. It will not. Reliance Industries and Google have pushed their low-cost smartphone to November, and the cause is the same global chip shortage that has already idled car plants.
Reuters reported the delay after Jio, Reliance’s telecom arm, filed a notice with the stock exchange late on a Thursday. “Both the companies have begun testing JioPhone Next with a limited set of users for further refinement and are actively working to make it available more widely in time for the Diwali festive season,” the filing said. The extra time, Jio added, will also help deal with the industry-wide shortage of semiconductors.
The shortage traces back to the pandemic. Remote work drove up demand for laptops and phones, and chipmakers could not keep pace. Several automakers have suspended production as a result. In India, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra have cut output.
A tight window
Diwali falls on November 4 this year. India’s festive season typically runs for 30 days, starting in October, and shoppers tend to spend big on jewellery, gadgets and cars. A phone that arrives in the middle of that stretch has little time to catch the crowd.
Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani announced the JioPhone Next in June. He gave no price but said it would be the most affordable smartphone “not just in India, but globally.” Market rumours cited by the Sikkim Today put the price near $50, or 3,500 rupees, with a lightweight version of Android 11, Google Assistant and a 5 to 6 inch touchscreen. Neither company has confirmed those details.
Jio has history with surprises. It entered the Indian market in 2016 with cut-price data and free voice calls, which pushed several rivals out. It is now the country’s biggest mobile carrier, with more than 425 million customers.
Sources
- Chip shortage pushes Reliance, Google to delay India smartphone launch
- RELIANCE-GOOGLE PHONE DELAYED AMID CHIP SHORTAGE – The Sikkim Today
