Jio phone cannot be placed in any particular category. It looks like a feature phone but it has many smart features due to which the phone gets a different identity. All Jio apps work in this feature phone. You will be able to watch movies and stream songs as well. Along with this, free data is also being provided in the tariff plan, so that you can use these services. These claims sound good, but how is the experience of using Jio Phone? Let us tell you…
Reliance Jio phone design and build
Jio phone is similar to any normal feature phone in terms of design and feel. It comes with a small screen and numeric keypad. Everything is made of plastic and we must say that its quality is good. The weight is not too much and it fits easily in the hands. The phone has a good grip in the hands due to the curved edges. It does not give the feeling of being thick or heavy.
The screen is 2.4 inches and has a resolution of 240x 320 pixels. Viewing angles are quite bad, but considering the price it would be considered decent. Below the display are two function buttons, the D pad, call and disconnect buttons, and the number pad. Next to the earpiece above the screen is the VGA camera. Each button is well spaced and easy to reach. Gives a feeling of strength when you press the button.
There is nothing on the back of the phone except a 2-megapixel primary camera and loudspeaker. The back cover can be removed. And the 2000 mAh battery also comes out. Jio is a single SIM device and has a Nano SIM slot. You will get a separate slot for microSD card. At the bottom is a headphone socket along with a microUSB port. There is an LED torch on the top. It can be activated by long pressing the Up button on the D pad.
Apart from the Jio phone, you will get a charger and micro-USB cable in the retail box. Jio SIM will already be given in the phone. It will have to be activated before using it. We used an old Jio SIM with the phone. And it ran without any problems. As expected, Airtel SIM did not work in it.
Reliance Jio Phone Specifications and Software
Jio Phone is a feature phone but the specifications are worth noting. It has a dual core processor and is provided with 512 MB RAM. Inbuilt storage is 4 GB. Out of this, 1 GB is available to the user. 1 GB is reserved for apps and the rest of the storage will be used for software updates and app cache. Storage isn’t a concern, as you’ll be able to use a microSD card up to 128GB. You will be able to transfer files from your phone to personal computer via USB cable, just enable the USB mode.
For connectivity, Jio phone has Bluetooth and WiFi. With the help of Bluetooth you will be able to transfer files to another phone. We were able to access the internet through the Wi-Fi router without any issues. You do not find these connectivity features in feature phones. Because of this, Jio phone goes ahead of the rest in the race. There is 4G VoLTE support. The phone connects to Jio network quickly. There’s no hotspot feature, meaning those looking to consume the free data they get every day from another device will be disappointed.
We have received many questions regarding the operating system of JioPhone. For your information, let us tell you that Jio phone runs on KaiOS. This is a customized version of Firefox OS. It seems that Reliance has worked on improving the software. Because the Firefox OS provided in Intex Cloud FX had many shortcomings. The user interface is simple and easy to understand. Grid style menu. Apps are easily identified by their name and icon. You cannot decorate these icons as per your wish. But you can definitely keep your favorite on the top. Jio phone has an app store named JioStore, but apart from Jio’s own apps, you will not find anything here.
The Dpad’s four buttons on the home screen also act as shortcuts to launch apps. You will be able to access the Settings app, camera, messages and inbuilt music player from these buttons. We couldn’t use these buttons for the apps we wanted. Alerts are in one place. These can be accessed via the function button on the left. The settings menu is well laid out and options are easy to find. There is a facility for software updates and OTA updates will be available which is not common for feature phones. We hope that Reliance Jio will continue to add new features to Jio Phone through this.
The feature phone has geolocation which tells the location through GPS and Wi-Fi data. It is used for SOS emergency function. If the user keeps pressing the button number 5 for a long time, the phone will send an SOS message with the location coordinates. NFC is also provided for payments in Jio phone, but it is not available yet. It is possible that it can be enabled through OTA update.
Some useful features are provided in the software. Whenever you type a number to dial, the contact names will be automatically suggested. If you want, you will be able to make a video call by long pressing the call button. However, navigation is a bit slow. Don’t expect smartphone level functions from it. While dialing or typing a number, we found that the beeping sound from the keypad came after some time. This spoiled the experience even though in reality there is no lag in the keypad. After muting the phone, we were able to type more quickly.
Many Jio apps are pre-installed. You will get Jio apps like Jio Cinema, JioChat, JioMusic. Basic calculator, unit conversion, notes, FM radio, video player and gallery app are also provided. We were able to stream songs on Jio Music. One could watch television serials on JioTV and enjoy movies on JioMovies, that too without any hassle. Currently, this subscription is free for Jio phone buyers, which is a good thing.
Streaming videos play in landscape mode in Jio apps. But the one present in microSD card played only in portrait mode. In both cases the experience of watching the video was very bad. In such a situation, once made available, the TV cable accessory will prove to be useful. Controlling the volume level is not easy, as there are no physical buttons provided. This shortcoming will bother you while playing media or using the phone in general.
The phone also has a voice assistant which has been named HelloJio. It can be activated by long pressing the Dpad button. It understands basic commands. Like making a call when your name is called, or opening an app. But it is slow. This is for those who are unaware of this technology.
Popular social media apps like Facebook and WhatsApp are not currently available in Jio Phone. There is news that the company is working on this. You will get a web browser through which you will be able to take advantage of Facebook and other services. During the review, we were able to use the Telegram messaging app on the Jio phone’s web browser. We also used YouTube in the same way and the experience was fine. However, Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video were not usable on the Jio Phone browser.
Reliance Jio Phone performance, camera and battery life
Despite the simple hardware and the partnership with KaiOS, you cannot expect the speed of a cheap smartphone from it. The app will take time to load, but you won’t be disappointed because of this. But the hardware is powerful enough to play full-HD videos. You will be able to run only one app at a time. We also played some games on GeoGames. Even though these games are very basic, they don’t look bad. The performance of Jio apps depends on internet connectivity. Our phone got good 4G coverage during the review. Therefore, one had to wait only for a few seconds for streaming of songs or movies. But in the coming time, the situation may change after millions of Jio phone users come.
There is a 2 megapixel camera without flash on the back of the phone. The VGA camera is on the front panel. Two cameras at this price is a welcome step. We don’t have much expectations from these cameras. The camera app is very basic. You just get photos, video and self-timer mode.
The resolution of the photo taken with the 2 megapixel rear camera is 1600×1200 pixels. Landscape shots lack detail. There is too much noise in it. Close up shots came out better in comparison. Pictures get blurry every time due to motion. The performance of the camera at night is very ordinary. To get a good shot you will need a steady hand. Subjects are visible only when there is sufficient light. Hardly visible in low light. Photos look much better on the handset screen than on a computer screen. You can choose the resolution of your video. The resolution of a good quality video will be 720×480 pixels. The quality is not very bad. It can be put into use. But don’t expect too many details.
The resolution of selfies is 640×480 pixels. In this also you will get noise from rear camera. It would be wrong to compare Jio Phone with today’s smartphones. Photos appear blurry due to insufficient lighting or slight hand movement. The highest video resolution of the selfie camera is 352×288 pixels. It is of no use to you.
We were eager to know how long will the Jio phone’s battery last in normal use? As a feature phone, it comes with a large battery of 2000 mAh. But it has features like Bluetooth, 4G, Wi-Fi and GPS which are known to consume battery. After normal use, we found that even after 24 hours, 80 percent battery remains. The phone lasts for about 4 days without charging.
After continuous talking for 15 minutes, we found that the battery dropped by 2 percent and after talking for 30 minutes, it dropped by 5 percent. This is good performance as per 4G data connection. We also streamed TV serials on the phone. Found that the battery went down by 7 percent after watching a 30-minute episode. A similar test on Wi-Fi connection showed a decline of 6 percent. After not touching the phone even once for about 12 hours, the battery was reduced by only 3 percent. You’ll also get a power saving mode that switches off everything to reduce power consumption.
our decision
Jio phone is not made for smartphone users. This is for users who want to upgrade from a feature phone, but without spending a lot of money. Apart from this, it is made to connect the people of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to the internet. Will Jio Phone achieve the company’s target? We would just say that it definitely has potential. Hardware enabled. The experience of using the software is also good.
Free subscription to Jio apps makes this deal even better. The capability of OTA updates indicates that more features may be available in the future. However, you should carefully read the ‘Terms Apply’ section on Jio’s website. Here are the details related to the tariff plan and the conditions required to get a refund by returning the phone. Apart from this, it is not easy to buy the phone. At the same time, how will its performance be after a long time? And how reliable is it? All these questions cannot be answered right now.
For users who want to spend minimal money on upgrading their phones, Jio Phone is much better than its competitors. Looking at the features, it can be called a smart feature phone. If you are successful in booking it then you will not be disappointed.