A severe global shortage of semiconductor chips has forced Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Google to postpone the launch of an affordable smartphone by two months.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) said in a statement late Thursday that JioPhone Next, the 4G smartphone that was to go on sale on Friday, will now go on sale before Diwali. This time Diwali is on 4th November. The phone has been jointly developed by RIL’s telecom unit and Google.
RIL said, “Jio and Google have started testing JioPhone Next with a limited number of users and are working to make it more widely available around the time of Diwali.” “This additional time will help ease the current industry-wide, global scale.” semiconductor shortage,” the company said.
Companies around the world are facing a severe shortage of semiconductor chips this year. This stems from the shift to remote working due to Covid-induced factory closures and rising demand for laptops and mobile phones.
The supply crisis has hit industries ranging from automobiles to smartphones to video game consoles. Several automakers have also cut production, leading to longer wait times for consumers on some models.
RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said at the company’s annual meeting on June 24 that the new smartphone will be launched on September 10, which coincides with the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
JioPhone Next has an optimized operating system based on Android and Play Store. Jio and Google claim that the device and operating system will offer premium capabilities available in more powerful smartphones.
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