Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Google partners with India’s largest telecom operator on a budget smartphone

By

Google has announced it’s investing nearly half of its new $10 billion India Digitization Fund ($4.5 billion) in the country’s largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio — with which it’s also jointly developing an “entry-level affordable smartphone”.

The move strategically makes sense for Google that’s searching for its next billion users. Reliance Jio’s 4G-only network dominates more than a quarter of India’s mobile subscribers and today, at its annual shareholder virtual conference, the company even announced it’s building a 5G infrastructure.

Recommended Videos

By the end of this year, the number of internet users in India is projected to cross 600 million and a McKinsey Global Institute report further estimates the current 500 million figure will double in the next couple of years as both hardware and internet costs continue to fall.

Related

With an affordable smartphone, Google and Jio are looking to capitalize on this surge. Plus, both of these companies offer a suite of internet services like Google’s search engine and Jio’s over-the-top internet television platform that will greatly benefit from the country’s growing data consumption habits.

Google didn’t share much on this upcoming smartphone. The company’s India head, Sanjay Gupta, and vice president of product management Sameer Samat wrote in a blog post that the phone will feature “optimizations to the Android operating system and the Play Store.” Further, Mukesh Ambani, the world’s sixth-richest person and the chairman of Jio’s parent conglomerate, Reliance, confirmed that the phone will support 4G as well as 5G connectivity whenever it rolls out.

It’s unclear at the moment what role Google will play in this partnership. It already offers an optimized version of Android called Android Go for budget smartphones. In addition, it’s worth noting this isn’t Google’s first investment towards capturing India’s digital shift. Two years ago, Google invested $22 million into KaiOS, a smarter operating system for non-touchscreen feature phones. It’s worth noting that Reliance Jio sells the most popular KaiOS-powered dumbphone in India.

Like several other US-based tech companies, Google has also actively fine-tuned its services to cater to the Indian audience. For instance, in India, you can talk to the Google Assistant through a toll-free number in Hindi or English — no internet needed.

“Together we are excited to rethink, from the ground up, how millions of users in India can become owners of smartphones. This effort will unlock new opportunities, further power the vibrant ecosystem of applications, and push innovation to drive growth for the new Indian economy,” Google added in the blog post.

Google isn’t the only one collaborating with Reliance Jio. Over the past few weeks, a range of companies including Facebook, Intel, and Qualcomm have invested in Jio to expand their reach and capture this wave of new users, most of whom are logging in for the first time.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Shubham Agarwal
Shubham Agarwal
Journalist
Shubham Agarwal is a freelance technology journalist from Ahmedabad, India. His work has previously appeared in Firstpost…
ZTE Axon 30 Ultra vs. Google Pixel 5: Head-to-head comparison
The app display on the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra

The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra is a seriously powerful smartphone for its price. At only $749, it still provides the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, a big 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate, a long-lasting 4,600mAh battery, and a quad-lens rear camera. It's a phone to take seriously if you're in the market for a new Android phone, even if the lack of 5G support (in the United States) and wireless charging is less than ideal. But it isn't the only impressive smartphone in its price bracket, and top of the list of its rivals must surely be the Google Pixel 5, which for $699 gives you one of the best cameras around, as well as great software, decent performance, a sharp OLED screen, and an endurable battery.

So which one is best? To answer this question, we put the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra and Pixel 5 through their paces, weighing them up in a head-to-head comparison test. We examine their specs, designs, displays, performance, cameras, and special features, putting all of these areas together to find out which is the better reasonably priced Android overall.
Specs

Read more
The best Google Pixel 4a cases and covers
google pixel 4a best features 01

Looking for a great smartphone that doesn't break the bank? The Google Pixel 4a is the latest budget version of Google's Pixel range, and it's a stunning phone with a flagship camera and a price that'll fit much better into budgets that can't accommodate a flagship price. But even a cheaper phone deserves protection, as breakages or replacements will eat into the money you've saved by picking a phone with a lower price. Here are some of the best Google Pixel 4a cases to keep your budget phone looking shiny and stop it from meeting a sticky end.
Speck Presidio ExoTech Case

If you want a compact single-layer case that also doubles as a very rugged cover, this item from Speck should be near the top of your list. It has been drop-tested to military standards, so it will do a great job of keeping your Pixel 4a in one piece in the unfortunate event of a bad fall. The tactile, rubberized material also gives you plenty of grip, so the chances of a fall in the first place are pretty low. There's also a Microban coating, which will keep bacteria growth on your phone to a minimum, while the raised bezels help to keep the Pixel's screen out of harm's way.

Read more
T-Mobile partners to promote Google apps for messaging, cloud storage, and TV
Google Pixel 5

T-Mobile is going all-in on Google apps and services. The two companies have announced a massive partnership that will see T-Mobile officially support Android Messages (with RCS, or Rich Communication Services) on all of its Android phones, and promote a range of Google's apps and services in place of its own.

A few different Google apps and services will get pushed by T-Mobile as part of the deal. For example, Google One will be pushed as T-Mobile's "preferred phone backup and cloud solution," and YouTube TV will be promoted as T-Mobile's premium live TV solution.

Read more