Jio to launch Jiophone Next on Sept 10: Ambani
Mumbai: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani announced JioPhone Next, a 4G smartphone co-developed in partnership with American technology giant Google, at the RIL AGM 2021 on Thursday. He also announced a partnership with Google for the latter’s cloud services to power Jio 5G solutions. Under the Jio Platforms, Ambani said that the company is testing a full new commerce solution in partnership with social media giant Facebook, adding that it has operationalised the Jio-Azure Cloud Centres of 10-Mw capacity in partnership with Microsoft. The company also plans to expand the Jio-Azure data centres capacity and offering for small and medium businesses and start-ups in the country. Here are the details of everything Ambani announced under Jio Platforms at the Reliance Industries annual general meeting this year:
JioPhone Next
Co-developed in partnership with Google, the JioPhone Next is touted as a made-for-India smartphone. Powered by an optimised version of the Android platform, especially developed for the JioPhone Next, the 4G smartphone will enable users to consume content and navigate the phone in their preferred language, deliver a great camera experience, and get the latest Android features and security updates – Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet said.
JioPhone Next will be packed with features like the Google Assistant, automatic read-aloud of screen text, language translation, smart camera with augmented reality filters, and more. It will be available in the market from the auspicious date of Ganesh Chaturthi, September 10, 2021 — Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said. The JioPhone Next will be the most affordable 4G smartphone in India, and world, said Ambani in his address at the RIL AGM 2021.
Jio 5G
Mukesh Ambani announced Reliance Jio efforts to make India a 2G network free nation by shifting to the 5G networks. Speaking on the 5G technology, Ambani said that Jio now has 100 per cent home-grown comprehensive 5G solution for standalone 5G network rollout in the country. Jio has successfully demonstrated speeds of over 1GB per second in trials using Jio 5G solutions, he added. Ambani said that Jio has received regulatory approval and trial spectrum for 5G field trials, and the company is testing 5G standalone network at its data centres across India and at trial sites in Mumbai.
“We are confident of being the first to launch full-fledged 5G services. And because of our converged, future-proof architecture Jio’s network is uniquely positioned to quickly and seamlessly upgrade from 4G to 5G. To develop the end-to-end 5G ecosystem we are now working with leading global partners to develop a full range of 5G-capable devices. The Jio 5G technology is well positioned to create compelling applications for consumers and enterprises spanning Healthcare, Education, Entertainment, Retail and other key verticals of the economy,” Ambani said in his address at the RIL AGM 2021.
Google Cloud for Jio 5G
Mukesh Ambani announced partnership with Google for its Cloud services to power Jio’s 5G network and services. In partnership, Google will provide a complete end-to-end cloud offering for fully automated lifecycle management of Jio’s 5G network and services. Besides, Google will leverage its Edge Cloud infrastructure to provide an open, scalable and high-performing platform for supporting Jio’s 5G services. In addition, Jio and Google Cloud will collaborate to bring a portfolio of 5G edge computing solutions to help industries address business challenges. Jio will explore building new services across gaming, healthcare, education, and video entertainment sectors. These services will use Jio’s 5G network, software and Google Cloud’s innovations in AI/ML, data and analytics, and other cloud-native technologies—delivered by Jio and powered by Google Cloud.
Jio and Facebook
Mukesh Ambani said that the initial set of integrations between Facebook’s WhatsApp and Reliance’s JioMart returned encouraging results and valuable feedback. Now, the Jio is working on developing the full New Commerce solution linking merchants and consumers, and the company plans to launch these services over the next few quarters.
Jio and Microsoft
With Microsoft, Jio has operationalised an initial 10 MW capacity of Jio-Azure Cloud Data centres in two cities — Jamnagar and Nagpur. Jio is now onboarding the initial group of pilot customers and plans to expand the data centre capacity and service offerings to a growing number of SMEs and start-ups over the coming quarters.