Jio: The Indian Feature Phone Disruptor

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio is attempting to disrupt the Indian phone market once more, this time with the 4G internet-ready feature phone JioBharat that will cost just 999 rupees (around $12). The phone was announced Monday and is geared towards the millions of Indians who have not yet switched to a smartphone or a 4G phone. The company said it was trying to make the country 2G mukt (2G free) with the release.

Between 2016 and 2017, Ambani's and Reliance Industries' national profile increased majorly by ways of a hugely successful campaign that included the undercutting mobile phone subscription prices and the release of the JioPhone, which first combined a cheap feature phone with 4G internet capabilities and mass-produced it for the Indian market. The release catapulted the Jio brand to the top of the Indian feature phone market in 2018 and it remained a major player into 2019 - receiving a second wind from the release of the JioPhone 2 that featured a qwerty keyboard and enhanced internet capabilities. While the first JioPhone cost Rs 1,499/$18 including a generous one-year voice and data plan (and a famous money-back guarantee), the JioBharat only has one month of data and calls included in the Rs 999 price.

Jio is going back to a rock-bottom price and a simple 4G feature phone after their 2018 JioPhone 2 (Rs 2,999/$36)) as well as their starter smartphone JioPhone Next (Rs 4,499/$55) did not perform as well as its first JioPhone release.

As seen in numbers by Counterpoint research, a re-release of the JioPhone in 2021 boosted sales again before the market research company stopped promoting feature phone data. Between releases, Jio regulary disappeared from the top selling feature phone vendors in India.