Jio Platforms quietly launched its first laptop. This is a move that reflects the aggressive expansion of Indian telecom giant Jio.
The JioBook laptop runs JioOS, an Android-based custom OS that has been optimized for “superior performance” and local language support. The laptop, manufactured in India, is selling at 15,799 Indian rupees, or $190 — with up to $60 in discounts with certain banking and card partners.
The JioBook ships bundled with many Jio apps as well as Microsoft 365 service. This has been in development for at least two decades. It was quietly displayed at the Indian Mobile Congress trade fair event last month.
JioBook specifications are, as you might have guessed from the name, not very high-end. It sports an 11.6-inch HD display with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s 64-bit processor, 2GHz octa core processor, and 2GB RAM. The laptop comes with an embedded Jio simcard, which allows for Jio 4G LTE connectivity.
The JioBook boasts 128GB flash storage and can run for up to eight hours with a single charge.
The laptop is one of many businesses that Reliance, an Indian conglomerate and parent company of Jio Platforms has entered over the past few years. Mukesh Ambani is the billionaire who founded the company. The network’s low-rate voice and data tariffs quickly made it the most popular telecom provider in India.
Jio Platforms has raised more than $20 trillion in funding from more 10 investors 2020, including Meta and Google. They have also launched smartphones and feature phones in the last half-decade. Last year, the company’s JioPhoneNext smartphone was released. Jio Platforms worked closely with Google in developing an Android operating system that the smartphone will use.
The company seems to have ambitious plans for the JioBook. Reliance intends to sell “hundreds and thousands” of units by March, according to Reuters.
Jio didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.