Reliance Jio plans for launching cloud laptops

The telecom giant Reliance Jio has been working hard on its hardware lineup, introducing low-cost laptops and phones. The JioBook (2023), the company’s second laptop, was aggressively priced at Rs. 16,499 when it was first released earlier this year in July. A recent report suggests that Jio intends to launch a cloud laptop at a price of approximately Rs. 15,000, suggesting the business is now keen to increase the number of PCs it offers. The cloud laptop, which runs on Jio Cloud and reduces the expensive shipping expenses associated with laptops, is set to debut in India in the upcoming months.

According to a story published in The Economic Times on Saturday, the telecom company owned by Mukesh Ambani is in talks to launch the laptop in the nation in a few months with leading manufacturers including HP, Acer, and Lenovo.

The laptop would be a “dumb terminal,” with all of its processing and storage activities done on Jio Cloud infrastructure, according to an ET article that cited a senior Jio executive. This would eliminate the need for pricey hardware and lower the laptop’s cost of ownership. But keep in mind that in order to access storage, processing, and other cloud-based functions that a standard laptop would be able to do on its own, a cloud-based computer would require a constant internet connection.

As per the report, Jio intends to combine the laptop with a monthly cloud subscription, akin to Google One or Apple’s iCloud. But the exact cost of the cloud subscription won’t be known until later. Specialized features will be accessible on a higher tier plan, and the cloud subscription will probably package a number of Jio services.

The report also mentioned that experiments of the suggested cloud laptop are presently being conducted on an HP Chromebook. Furthermore, it is not necessary to purchase the cloud-based device in order to use the cloud PC software on pre-existing devices like a desktop computer or smart TV. 

Jio AirFiber

Jio introduced AirFiber, a Wi-Fi and digital entertainment service, back in September. It lets users subscribe to over 16 OTT apps and watch over 550 digital TV channels. Jio AirFiber services provide Wi-Fi-like internet connections based on 5G FWA (fixed wireless access), which is intended for people with restricted fiber Internet access in their area. Currently offering options starting at Rs. 599 per month, Jio AirFiber is accessible in 262 Indian locations.

As a follow-up to the first JioBook that was unveiled the previous year, the business debuted the JioBook (2023) in July. Running on the JioOS operating system, which is based on Android, the most recent JioBook is equipped with an octa-core MediaTek MT8788 CPU.

Jio also released the JioPhone Prima 4G feature phone earlier this month for Rs. 2,599, according to Jio. Based on the KaiOS platform, the phone is compatible with a number of Jio services and well-known apps like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Google Search. Additionally, there are rumors that the corporation is developing a 5G smartphone.