Sundar Pichai has announced that the JioPhone Next will be available in India before Diwali. During Alphabet’s earnings call on Wednesday, Google CEO Larry Page revealed the launch date for the entry-level smartphone. The announcement confirms the rumor that the Jio phone will be released in the country after multiple delays.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), originally unveiled JioPhone Next at the company’s annual general meeting in June. Ambani had previously stated that the phone would be released on September 10 to coincide with the Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Since then, the phone has been delayed many times owing to a global chip shortage.
Pichai has finally announced the JioPhone Next’s launch date. Pichai said during Alphabet’s earnings call that Google has made work with the “Made for India affordable smartphone” and that the smartphone is “on track to launch in the market by Diwali.”
For those who are unaware, JioPhone Next is a joint venture between Jio and Google in India. While Jio will be in charge of the phone’s hardware, Google will be responsible of the device’s software. For this collaboration, the two businesses jointly co-created Pragati OS, the first of its kind operating system focused at the Indian market.
