JioPhone Next release date is likely September 10 and the phone is going to be available through many payment modes.
HIGHLIGHTS
- JioPhone Next will be available to buy for as low as Rs 500.
- The regular price of the JioPhone Next may be Rs 5,000.
- Reliance Jio may release the JioPhone Next on September 10.
JioPhone Next, the ultra-affordable, Google-backed smartphone from Reliance Jio, is due for launch later this month. Slated for a September 10 release, the JioPhone Next is going to be more affordable than most smartphones that you see on the market. But, over and above the regular purchase of the JioPhone Next, the company wants to give people different options in what seems like an elaborate sales structure. One of them will let people buy the JioPhone Next for as low as Rs 500, but there is a caveat here.
According to ET Now, Reliance Jio will partner with a slew of Indian banks and lending partners to be able to sell the JioPhone Next through different payment modes. The telecom company is likely to collaborate with the State Bank of India, Piramal Capital, IDFC First Assure, and DMI Finance. The goal that the company has set is to reach 10,000 crores in business by selling 50 million units in the next 6 months, so it becomes necessary for the company to diversify how it will sell the JioPhone Next.
JioPhone Next will have an easy-sales model. Of course, there will be a regular one-time payment option available. But Reliance Jio wants customers to buy the phone at any cost. For that, according to the report, Jio will let customers own the JioPhone Next without asking for the full money upfront. Here is how it will work:
JioPhone Next price and sale
Per the report, there will be two JioPhone Next models. One will be the basic JioPhone Next, which will cost Rs 5,000 and the other one will be the JioPhone Next Advance, priced at Rs 7,000. Customers keen on buying either will not need to have to pay the total amount in one go. They can pay just 10 per cent of the total amount: Rs 500 for the Basic model and Rs 700 for the Advance model. The remaining amount will need to be paid to the bank or the lending partner in instalments over a long period of time. Now, it is not clear if this purchase model will include interests in instalments.
Reliance Jio has also partnered with non-banking finance companies, known as NBFCs, to give customers options for availing credit. The credit support deals are said to be worth Rs 2,500 crores. This would mean that customers will be able to finance the phone, but it will cost them a little extra over the regular price of the phone. Exact details are not available at this moment.
While this report has hinted at a starting price of Rs 5,000 for the JioPhone Next, a tip from Twitter user Yogesh suggested the upcoming Android phone from Reliance Jio could cost Rs 3,499. The exact price of the JioPhone Next is not clear, but the company did emphasise that the JioPhone Next will be the world’s cheapest Android smartphone. Google CEO Sundar Pichai also attended the launch to announce how Android will power the next generation of affordable handsets, probably starting with the JioPhone Next.
