JioPhone 2 launched: Specs, price, top features, and everything you should know

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Reliance Industries at its 41st annual general meeting (AGM) in Mumbai on Thursday announced the successor to the existing JioPhone, which was launched at the RIL's AGM last year. The successor phone is called the JioPhone 2. The new JioPhone 2 is much smarter and enhanced that the existing JioPhone. Overall, the JioPhone 2 comes with a better specs sheet and also an improved design compared to the JioPhone. The JioPhone 2 was launched by Isha Ambani, after the Reliance Jio head Mukesh Ambani announced that the company in total has sold around 25 million JioPhone in India since the launch.

With the JioPhone 2, Reliance has also bumped the price of the feature phone compared to that of the JioPhone, which was launched with an effective price of 'zero'. The JioPhone 2 has been launched for a price tag of Rs 2,999, but if you own a feature phone already, you can get the JioPhone 2 for a cheaper price by exchanging it. Like the JioPhone, there's no 'effective' price offer attached to the JioPhone 2.

The JioPhone 2, in terms of both design as well as specs is the high-end version of the JioPhone, says the company. The notable change that Reliance Jio brings to JioPhone 2 is in its keypad. The JioPhone 2 comes with a QWERTY keypad, similar to what we have seen on BlackBerry phones. The feature phone also features a 4-way navigation key and also a mono speaker. Here's the full specs list of the newly launched JioPhone 2:

JIOPHONE 2 SPECIFICATIONS:

Display: The JioPhone 2 comes with the same screen size as the JioPhone. The feature phone sports a 2.4-inch QVGA display. But unlike the JioPhone, the difference in the JioPhone 2 is in its keypad area. The JioPhone 2 comes with a BlackBerry-like QWERTY keypad.

Software: Similar to that of the JioPhone, the JioPhone 2 runs on KAI OS

RAM: The JioPhone 2 comes with 512MB RAM, similar to that of the JioPhone

Storage: The high-end JioPhone feature phone comes with a 4GB of internal storage. The storage memory can be expandable up to 128GB via a microSD card

Battery: The JioPhone 2 is backed by a 2000mAh

Connectivity: JioPhone 2 comes with several connectivity options like VoLTE, VoWiFi, NFC, GPS, Bluetooth, and FM radio. The feature phone also supports LTE Cat4 DL: 150Mbps/UL: 50Mbps, and LTE Band 2,5,40, 2G Band 900/1800

Rear camera: On the rear panel, the JioPhone 2 sports a single sensor of 2-megapixel

Front camera: On the front, the JioPhone 2 comes with a VGA sensor

SPECIAL FEATURES OF JIOPHONE 2:

--QWERTY keypad is one of the major changes that Reliance Jio has brought to the new JioPhone 2. The JioPhone 2 comes with BlackBerry-like QWERTY keypad. Reliance has also revamped the overall design of the JioPhone 2 compared to the JioPhone. The JioPhone looks like a basic feature phone, but JioPhone 2 looks close to entry-level phones. Jio says that the JioPhone 2 is a high-end version of JioPhone.

--The JioPhone 2 comes with dual-SIM card support. The primary SIM card slot will be locked and specifically be dedicated to Jio SIM only. The secondary SIM card slot, however, will be unlocked, which means you will be able to use SIM from other networks, be it Airtel, Vodafone, Idea or any other.

--As announced by the company, popular social and messaging apps like Facebook, Youtube and WhatsApp will be coming to the JioPhone and the JioPhone 2 starting August 15. This means, you will be able to use WhatsApp and Facebook and also watch YouTube videos on JioPhone unlike before. You can also browse the internet on JioPhone 2.

--Jio has also announced a new offer called the Jio Monsoon Hungama offer where old feature phone can be exchanged to get JioPhone (1) for a price of Rs 501. For instance, if you own a feature phone, you can exchange it to get a new JioPhone (JioPhone 1) for just Rs 501. This offer will start from July 21 onwards. JioPhone currently sells at an effective price of Rs zero.

JIOPHONE 2 PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

Reliance Jio has launched the JioPhone 2 for a price of Rs 2,999. The JioPhone 2 will be available for buying starting August 15. Jio, for now, hasn't revealed the retail partners for JioPhone 2. The JioPhone 2 will be available in only one colour -- Black.