Reliance Jio to launch Android Oreo (Go edition) phone

Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio is working on an Android Oreo (Go edition)-powered smartphone. This unnamed smartphone will make its debut sometime this quarter in the country.

Jio is collaborating with chip maker MediaTek to build this smartphone, revealed TL Lee, Business Unit Head, Wireless Communication Product, ?MediaTek, at the press event earlier today. Lee didn’t share any specifics about the Jio phone.

At this press event, MediaTek also teased that it is going to be the first System-on-chip (SoC) company to launch Android Oreo (Go edition) smartphone, suggesting that the upcoming Micromax Bharat Go smartphone may also be using a MediaTek SoC. The Micromax Bharat Go is pretty much certain to be the first Android Oreo (Go edition) smartphone worldwide. It was rumoured to be arriving by January-end, but we are yet to see an official announcement.

To remind you, Android Oreo (Go edition) is the first operating system to be released as a part of Google’s Android Go initiative. This initiative aims to offer an optimised version of Android for low-RAM and low-storage Android devices. The Android Oreo (Go edition) includes a number of optimisations and improvements that will make it run faster on entry-level smartphones. It also bundles special Go-edition versions of Google applications that are not very resource-intensive. In addition, the operating system will include a Go-edition Play Store, which will highlight the applications designed to work better on less-powerful Android devices.

The Android Oreo (Go edition) phones are expected to offered with very affordable price-tags, like the Micromax’s  Android Go edition phone is rumoured to be priced under INR 2,000. While not all Go edition phones will be this cheap, we can expect at least Reliance Jio to be aggressive with the pricing. The telecom operator may even end up offering the phone free with some sort of cashback or other promotional offer.

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