The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate has partnered with global giants Qualcomm and Microsoft for the JioBook...
Digital Desk: In an effort to replicate the success of its low-cost JioPhone in India's highly price-sensitive market, Reliance Jio will launch a low-cost laptop with an inbuilt 4G sim card for Rs 15,000, two sources told Reuters.
The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate has partnered with global giants Qualcomm and Microsoft for the JioBook, with the former powering its computer chips based on technology from Arm Ltd. and the latter offering support for some apps.
Jio, India's largest telecom carrier with over 420 million customers, did not reply quickly to a request for comment.
The laptop will be available to enterprise customers such as schools and government organizations starting this month, with a consumer launch expected within the next three months, according to sources. As with the JioPhone, a 5G-enabled version will follow.
Since its launch late last year, the handset has been India's top-selling sub-$100 smartphone, accounting for a fifth of the market over the last three quarters, according to Counterpoint.
The JioBook will be manufactured domestically by contract manufacturer Flex, with Jio intending to sell "hundreds of thousands" of tablets by March, one of the sources said.
Overall PC shipments in India stood at 14.8 million units last year, led by HP, Dell and Lenovo, according to research firm IDC.
According to Tarun Pathak, an analyst with Counterpoint, the launch of the JioBook will increase the size of the overall addressable laptop market segment by at least 15%.
Jio's own JioOS operating system will be used on the laptop, and programs can be downloaded via the JioStore. Jio is promoting the laptop as an alternative to tablets for corporate employees who work outside of the office.
Jio, which raised around $22 billion from global investors such as KKR & Co Inc and Silver Lake in 2020, is credited with disrupting the world's no. 2 mobile market when it launched cheap 4G data plans and free voice services in 2016, and later the 4G smartphone at a cost of just $81.
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