Ahead Of Reliance AGM, Two Jio Phones Get BIS Certification

Ahead of its upcoming annual general meeting (AGM), oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance has received Bureau of Indian Standards’ (BIS’) certification for two of its upcoming models. 

As per details seen by Inc42, the two certified models – JBV161W1 and JBV162W1 – have been listed on the BIS website under the brand name Jio. The stamp of approval was granted on Friday (August 11). 

The devices conform to ‘IS 13252 (Part 1):2010’ and ‘IS 16333 (Part 3):2022’ mandates which cover the local standards for cell phones.

There is no clarity on the specifications of the two models, and may also just be the same model but with different colour options. 

This comes amid widespread speculations that Jio is looking to launch a Jio 5G phone later this month. As per a report in the Livemint, the conglomerate will likely unveil the 5G phone at its upcoming AGM on August 28. 

According to a separate report in India Today, the new Jio phones will likely boast of 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and will be powered by Snapdragon 480 System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

This is largely in line with a recent listing on CPU benchmarking platform Geekbench, which noted the testing of a similar Jio Phone. The device in question had a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 Plus processor and, as per Geekbench, potentially 4GB RAM. 

Meanwhile, other reports have claimed that the new Jio 5G phone could include a 6.5-inch HD+ and LCD display, a 5,000mAh battery, a 13-megapixel dual rear camera and an 8-megapixel front sensor. 

Prior to that, another Jio phone was reportedly tested on the benchmarking platform under model number Jio LS1654QB5, which came with Snapdragon 480-Plus SoC, an Adreno 619 GPU and 4GB of RAM.

While details are still scarce, Jio could be targeting the lower-price segment with the new offering. As per reports, the company may price the 5G phone under INR 10,000 with a custom Jio operating system (OS) built on top of Android. 

Reliance Jio has made no qualms about its smartphone ambitions. With 5G rollout in full pace, the 5G smartphone launch could help the company further expand the next-generation service to users in non-metros and other parts of the country. 

The development comes close on the heels of Reliance recently launching the Jio Bharat 4G feature phone for INR 999. With a slew of new smartphone offerings, Jio is looking to cash-in on the growing adoption of phones in the country. With much expected to unfold over the coming days, it remains to be seen what the exact specifications of the new phones and which segment they target.