Reliance's 5G-enabled JioPhone to cost less than Rs. 8,000
Qualcomm and Reliance Jio are gearing up to introduce an affordable 5G smartphone in India by the end of this year. It will be priced under $99 or Rs. 8,000. The goal is to encourage 2G users to upgrade to a 5G-enabled smartphone, powered by Qualcomm's low-cost chip. Chris Patrick, SVP and General Manager of Handsets at Qualcomm, stated that the new chipset aims to deliver a complete 5G experience for consumers seeking budget-friendly smartphones.
Smartphone will support Jio 5G standalone architecture
The upcoming smartphone, likely to be called JioPhone 5G, will be compatible with Jio's 5G standalone architecture. It will feature a specialized, low-cost custom processor with SA-2Rx capability, enabling it to achieve gigabit speeds on a 5G network. Patrick emphasized that Qualcomm is heavily concentrating on the transition from 4G to 5G, striving to make it as seamless as possible for handset developers, telcos, and end users.
Qualcomm's Indian R&D teams helped develop new chipset
Qualcomm's Indian R&D teams in Hyderabad and Bengaluru played a crucial role in developing the new chipset. Savi Soin, President at Qualcomm India, underscored the significance of ecosystem partners like Jio and OEMs in readying a successful 5G device at a price point previously unseen in India. He added that the chip alone is not enough; strong partners, particularly telcos, are essential since it is a standalone-only product.
Potential impact of global market and developer engagement
Qualcomm executives revealed that a sub-$99 5G smartphone could potentially bring 5G connectivity to around 2.8 billion people worldwide, including India. Soin noted that Qualcomm is intensifying its efforts in India to engage developers and create use cases. He is seeking developers to build apps for the new handset to drive use cases that people need, anticipating a market shift with affordable 5G smartphones in India and across the globe.
