Reliance’s new phone – The next disruptor?

Introduction

In India, the telecom sector is already in decline. The advent of Reliance in this market in 2016 heightened the rivalry. Reliance Jio rocked the entire telecom business with its low internet pricing, and now it’s looking for a large slice of the mobile market. There are currently no Indian players in this category, and Reliance Jio is hoping to upset the mobile market in the country with its recently announced inexpensive smartphone, the ‘JioPhone Next.’ In partnership with Google, Reliance launched their new Android-based smartphone.

Overview of Reliance Jio’s new phone

Reliance is seeking to put a smartphone in the hands of every Indian with its Rs 6,499 smartphone. Mukesh Ambani has requested Indian mobile phone manufacturers to build a version of the Jio phone that runs on Android and costs roughly $50, leveraging both the money and the Google connection.

Reliance Jio With its 4G services, hopes to upset the mobile market, but that isn’t enough. The cost of JioPhones has risen steadily throughout the years. Meanwhile, other businesses, like Xiaomi and Samsung, are dominating the present market. The middle-classes of society are willing to spend extra for superior features. Fighting a concept like this would be difficult for the JioPhones, given that they offer nothing unique. Competitors and Target Market

Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VI) have roughly 280 million 2G users between them, contributing 22-25 percent of their total income. Reliance Jio, which has a market share of roughly 37% in terms of active mobile users, has been eyeing the 2G feature phone user group as the next frontier for expanding its subscriber base and expanding into rural India. Mukesh Ambani’s aim to make India “2G-mukt” was built on the foundation of a low-cost, accessible smartphone. According to media estimates, the smartphone, which is expected to be a huge disruptor in the Indian industry, will be priced below Rs 4,000, allowing Jio to take a large portion of Vi’s and Airtel’s customer base that still uses basic phones. According to Counterpoint Research, the JioPhone’s market share fell from 47 percent to 28 percent between 2018 and 2019. This isn’t due to a lack of demand for feature phones. Cheaper phones from Samsung and Lava, on the other hand, began to hit the market around the same time.

Performance of previous Jio phones launch

The JioPhone 2 had a similar fate. In 2019, sales of the JioPhone 2 accounted for less than 1% of overall JioPhone shipments. Perhaps the price had something to do with it as well. After all, the average rural Indian household only has a monthly excess of Rs 1,413. And if people weren’t completely sold on the concept back then, it’s possible that this new phone may suffer the same fate. Let us assume, however, that it does not. Let’s imagine that people embrace this smartphone like never before, joining Reliance in proclaiming a “2G-mukt Bharat.”

Then there’s Jio Mart, Reliance’s grocery-focused e-commerce portal that started in 2020. The idea was to connect 3 crore Indian Kirana stores to their clients through a network of 200 cities. Furthermore, if more people migrate to Jio’s 4G ecosystem, JioMart may benefit. In truth, Reliance has plans to sell digital electronics through the JioMart network, including the “Next” phone.

Conclusion

Only after the launch will we know whether the Reliance Jio phone will be the next disruptor, but based on current patterns, Reliance is positive at the present.

Credits -: Content- Deepansh Gupta Infographics- Anmol Kaur