Original equipment manufacturer MediaTek has officially announced that their processors will back the upcoming Reliance Jio smartphones that will run on Android Oreo Go. The announcement comes amid rumors of Jio planning to launch a new smartphone.
The company has told that they will power Android Go based smartphone under the ‘Lyf’ brand which is a smartphone series from Reliance Jio. While the JioPhone is powered by Spreadtrum and Qualcomm processors, the affordable smartphone will be backed by a MediaTek processor, namely the MT6739. TL Lee, Head of Mobiles at MediaTek made the announcement at an event.
MediaTek powered Reliance Jio smartphone
The Lyf brand of Reliance Jio is already making affordable entry-level smartphones for the Indian market. With this new smartphone, we think Reliance will price it the same way as the JioPhone. Also, the presence of Android Go also makes sure it is a complete smartphone.
For the uninitiated, Android Go is a watered-down version of Android Oreo and it is optimized to run on phones with RAM between 512MB to 1GB. These phones will come with Stock Android and get the Go apps from Google that include Gmail Go, Files Go, YouTube Go, Google Maps Go, etc.
The Indian market is expected to get Android Oreo Go devices from manufacturers like Micromax and Nokia. While the Micromax Bharat Go is already announced by the company, Nokia is expected to launch the Nokia 1 as an Android Go device in India. Amidst this competition, Reliance may price their Lyf smartphone more aggressively, just like the JioPhone.
T L Lee, General Manager, Wireless Communication, MediaTek, commented at the event, “India is growth intensive, a market of immense opportunities with its own set of aspirations and needs. We continue to intensify our technology collaboration in India, even beyond smartphones, and recognize its importance in the global marketplace.”
