JioPhone Next First Look: Can this be your next smartphone?
JioPhone Next has been introduced at a price of Rs 6,499 and it runs on Android 11 based Pragati OS. We tried it out and here's our experience with the device.
JioPhone Next has finally been announced in India. Reliance Jio has partnered up with Google to bring the affordable 4G smartphone to the Indian audience. The smartphone comes loaded with Pragati OS, which is based on Android and tailored just for the Indian user base. What makes this phone exciting is the fact that people can take the phone home by paying just Rs 1,999.
As the deal sounds interesting and the phone looks promising, we were really excited to check the phone out in person. Here’s what my brief experience with the JioPhone Next was like.
JioPhone Next: Unboxing
JioPhone Next comes packed in a white-coloured box that displays a picture of the phone on top. It says JioPhone Next on top and proudly mentions “Created with Google” on the bottom. It is the back of the box where the features of the smartphone are mentioned. The back of the box also says that the phone has been licensed by Qualcomm and it runs on Pragati OS powered by Android.
As soon as I opened the box, the phone was lying face down. I got to check out the Blue colour variant which is a vibrant colour but does manage to stand out. Keeping that aside, I saw a couple of booklets and then there was a battery lying inside. Yes, the JioPhone Next comes with a removable battery in 2021. This is a good thing as users will be able to swap the battery for a new one without any hassle. Lastly, there was a 7.5W power brick alongside a microUSB cable.
JioPhone Next: First look
As soon as I picked up the JioPhone Next for the first time, I was shocked to see how light it was but soon after that, I realised that the battery has been shipped separately inside the box. Once I popped in the battery, the weight of the smartphone felt more like any other affordable Android device. The smartphone comes with a plastic build, which has helped the company in keeping the production cost low. However, it is worth noting that it is not cheap plastic by any means.
Upfront, there is a 5.45-inch HD+ display which is covered by thick bezels on top and bottom. On the top bezel, there is the earpiece and the selfie camera. The power and volume buttons sit on the right edge of the device and there is also a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top. The bottom of the phone features a microphone and a micro USB port.
Overall, in terms of look and feel, the JioPhone Next is just a regular budget-friendly Android device. But that is not where the focus is. The focus is at the internals as well as the operating system.
JioPhone Next is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 processor. It packs in 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, which is further expandable up to 512GB using a microSD card. This is an impressive set of hardware for the price bracket the phone falls in.
Furthermore, the JioPhone Next runs on Pragati OS based on Android. I was really excited to checkout the Android version that Google has made specifically for India. Pragati OS is based on Android 11 or rather Android 11 Go Edition. The smartphone had a lot of Go apps installed by default including the Gallery Go, Camera Go and more apps.
Thanks to the optimisations made, the phone felt really snappy to use. Right after the setup, the phone did lag a bit but once the setup process was complete, I could not feel much of a hiccup anywhere. I also tried loading our website on the Chrome browser and it loaded just fine.
In the brief time I had with the device, I even tried out its 13MP camera. The camera is not setting any benchmark but it also does not disappoint. It can capture some decent pictures under good lighting conditions. Even the selfies turned out to be good enough.
JioPhone Next: Should it be your next smartphone?
Reliance Jio encountered some good sales numbers with the launch of the first JioPhone. The company now wanted to offer more to its audience but wanted to keep the price point in check. The JioPhone Next can serve as a great smartphone for people jumping from a feature to a smartphone for the first time. It can even be a good choice for other people looking for a smartphone on a tight budget.
What makes the deal even more interesting is the fact that one can take this phone home by paying just Rs 1,999. After that, the user just needs to pay as low as Rs 300 per month for 24 months. This makes purchasing the new smartphone really easy for everyone.