Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday said that the upcoming JioPhone Next device would create a huge impact in connecting and helping millions take advantage of smartphones in the next three-five years. JioPhone Next is laying the foundation for the next wave of digital transformation, Pichai added.
Reliance is all set to launch its Next handset in the festive season. The upcoming Next smartphone will house the Pragati OS powered by Android. Pragati is touted as a world-class operating system built specifically for India. It also has other features, including the Google Assistant, automatic read-aloud and language translation for any on-screen text, a smart camera with India-centric filters and more.
"People are looking for access, and there's definitely been a wave of them who have adopted smartphones (in India)," Pichai said during the earnings call after announcing robust quarterly results late on Tuesday.
"There is still demand to shift from feature phones to smartphones. JioPhone Next is like building a phone beyond the English-speaking community and going local, doing it in a way that many more people can take advantage of a smartphone," Pichai elaborated.
"It's a version of digital transformation. And I think over the 3-5 year time frame, the Jio phone will end up having a lot of impacts. But overall, India continues to be an exciting market for us. We see strength across the categories we are involved in. And you'll continue to see us stay focused there," Pichai noted.
The Next phone will, furthermore, support all available android apps, which the users can download via Google PlayStore. Jio currently has accumulated 430 million users countrywide in the span of five years. With JioPhone Next, it seeks to expand its user base further.