Jio 5G Smartphone, JioBook Laptop May Debut at AGM 2021: Report

Jio may launch its first 5G smartphone and JioBook, a low-cost laptop, at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), as per a report. The smartphone is said to be developed in partnership with Google, and is reported to run on either JioOS based on Android, or Android Go. Android Go is Google’s lightweight OS that is designed for smartphones with entry-level hardware. The report does not share much information about the laptop, however, a previous report has already given a deep dive into Reliance Jio’s alleged plans around it.

Citing an executive close to the matter, TelecomTalk reported that Reliance Jio and Google are “still talking about which version of the Android should the smartphone feature.” The executive reportedly mentioned that the 5G smartphone from Jio may feature Android Go OS and come with entry-level specifications. Jio will be able to make further inroads into the Indian market with its low-cost 5G smartphones. The report also mentioned that Reliance Jio is also working on Android-based JioOS for the smartphone.

This is in contrast with a previous report that said that JioOS is being developed for laptops by Reliance Jio. Rumour has it that Reliance Jio is partnering with Chinese manufacturer Bluebank Communication Technology for building the JioBook, a low-cost laptop, with 4G LTE connectivity. The development of the JioBook apparently started in early September last year and the device is expected to reach the Product Validation Test stage by mid-April.

JioBook specifications (expected)

The Reliance JioBook will apparently feature an HD (1,366×768 pixels) display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC paired with Snapdragon X12 4G modem under the hood. It may feature up to 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM up to 64GB of eMMC storage. Connectivity options on the smartphone could include a Mini-HDMI connector, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The laptop may also offer apps such as JioStore, JioMeet, and JioPages.

What will be the most exciting tech launch of 2021? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.