The conglomerate headed by Mukesh Ambani has teamed up with global giants Qualcomm and Microsoft for the JioBook, the former supplying its computer chips based on technology from Arm Ltd, and the maker of the Windows operating system supporting certain applications.
Jio, India’s largest telecom operator with more than 420 million customers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The laptop will be available to business customers such as schools and government institutes from this month, with a consumer launch expected within the next three months, the sources say. As with the JioPhone, a version compatible with 5G will follow.
“It will be as important as the JioPhone,” one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Since its launch late last year, the handset has been India’s best-selling sub-$100 smartphone, accounting for one-fifth of the market over the past three quarters, according to Counterpoint.
The JioBook will be produced locally by contract manufacturer Flex, with Jio aiming to sell “hundreds of thousands” of units by March, one of the sources said.
Overall PC shipments in India reached 14.8 million units last year, led by HP, Dell and Lenovo, according to research firm IDC.
The launch of the JioBook will expand the total addressable laptop market segment by at least 15%, according to Counterpoint analyst Tarun Pathak.
The laptop will run on Jio’s own JioOS operating system and applications can be downloaded from the JioStore. Jio is also promoting the laptop as an alternative to tablets for corporate employees who don’t work in the office.
Jio, which raised around $22 billion from global investors such as KKR & Co Inc. and Silver Lake in 2020, has credit for disrupting the world’s second-largest mobile phone market by launching cheap 4G. Jio, which raised around $22 billion from international investors such as KKR, Co Inc. and Silver Lake in 2020, is credited with shaking up the world’s second-largest mobile phone market by launching 4G data plans cheap and free voice services in 2016, then the 4G smartphone only $81. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil New Delhi; editing by Kirsten Donovan)