- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
SHARES of Indian multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Monday (13) slipped by more than two per cent after Jio, a telecom operator and a Reliance subsidiary, delayed the launch of its ultra-low-cost smartphone, possibly because of semiconductor shortages that the industry is facing.
While the market heavyweight fell by 2.25 per cent to Rs 2,370.85 (£23.26) on BSE, it went down to Rs 2,371 (£23.27) at NSE.
Jio has delayed the launch of its ultra-low-cost device it is developing with Google to Diwali. Previously, JioPhone Next was set to be launched on September 10. Chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani had said at the shareholder meeting of the RIL in June that the JioPhone Next will be available for purchase the same day.
JioPhone Next has been designed in partnership with Google and it is for those who are looking to upgrade from 2G to 4G connectivity.
The company, however, did not reveal the phone’s price.
In a statement, Jio said Reliance Jio and Google “have made considerable progress towards launching the much-awaited JioPhone Next, the made-for-India smartphone being jointly designed by the companies”.
“The device and the operating system will offer premium capabilities that have until now been associated with more powerful smartphones, including voice-first features that enable people to consume content and navigate the phone in their own language, deliver a great camera experience, and get the latest Android feature and security updates,” it said.
Both companies have begun testing the 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.
“This additional time will also help mitigate the current industry-wide, global semiconductor shortages,” the statement added.
