Jio launches a 4G-enabled smartphone for Rs 999

Telecommunications company Jio has launched a 4G-enabled smartphone 'Jio Bharat' for Rs 499.

It intends to bring the 250 million subscribers who still use 2G era feature phones and bring them into today’s modern digital era.  The beta trial for the first million Jio Bharat phones begins on 7th July 2023 and will be carried out across 6,500 tehsils.

Besides Reliance Retail, other phone brands (starting with Karbonn), will adopt the ‘Jio Bharat platform’ to build ‘Jio Bharat phones’

Akash Ambani, chairman, Reliance Jio, commented: "There are still 250 million mobile phone users in India who remain ‘trapped’ in the 2G era, unable to tap into basic features of the internet at a time when the world stands at the cusp of a 5G revolution.

Six years ago, when Jio was launched, we made it clear that Jio will leave no stone unturned to democratize the internet and pass the benefits of technology to every Indian. Technology will no longer remain a privilege for a select few.

The new Jio Bharat phone is another step in that direction. It is at the centre of innovation, and it continues to demonstrate our focus on bringing disproportionate and true value for different segments of users with meaningful, real-life use cases.”