RIL Launches 'Lite' Jio Browser For Android, To Support 8 Languages

SUMMARY

RIL is touting the browser to be a ‘fast and lite’ solution for web browsing

Jio Browser offers a number of features similar to a large number of web browsers available in India

With Jio, RIL is also marking its entry into several other segments

After making Jio a revolution in the telecom and internet space, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has now launched the Jio Browser for Android devices to complement its Jio network in India. The company is touting the browser as a ‘fast and lite’ solution for web browsing.

The Jio browser currently supports eight Indian languages apart from English. This includes Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Like many other web browsers in India, it offers features such as Incognito mode, social media sharing, download manager, a news and videos section from Hyderabad-based news aggregator platform PublicVibe, and a default favourites tab that lists websites such as MyJio, BookMyShow, AJio, Amazon.in, and Flipkart, among others.

One can download the Jio Browser for Android directly from Google Play Store. The app size is 4.8 MB and it is compatible with devices running on Android 5.0 Lollipop and above.

A few of the notable browsers popular in India are Google Chrome, UCBrowser, Opera Mini, and Edge. Last year, in April 2018, Amazon has launched a lite browser for Android devices named Internet. With the size of 2 MB, it is touted to be “lighter than the competition.”

Other companies have also introduced lite versions of their applications, specifically for India and its slow Internet speed. Facebook and Google offer native “lite” versions of their apps with Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite while Google has Gmail Go, Google Go, Google Maps Go, and YouTube Go, which are all available pre-installed on devices running on Android Oreo (Go Edition).

With Jio, RIL is also marking its entry into other segments. For instance, to add more relevant entertainment and education content to its Jio platform, the company is looking to invest in or acquire startups operating in the content, healthcare, education technology, financial technology, and transportation segments. It might also look at Jio aligning with product technology ventures, particularly those operating in artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

In April, Reliance Jio Music and Saavn merged their synergies to strengthen their foothold in the Indian music streaming market. Soon after that, RIL agreed to invest over $180 Mn into AI-based education platform Embibe over the next three years.

[The development was first reported by TelecomTalk.]