jio phone sim phone

JioPhone is a single SIM phone, doesn't run WhatsApp for now

The Reliance JioPhone, which was launched last Friday, aims to bridge the digital divide by bringing 4G connectivity to the masses. The "smart" feature phone is effectively available for free and comes with features never seen before in a phone at this price point such as 4G VoLTE support, voice search and support for Jio applications. But it also comes without some of expected features. Although there is no official confirmation about it, India Today Tech has learnt that the phone supports only one SIM card. The device also most likely lacks support for WhatsApp and Facebook, or for that matter the popular Android apps.

The JioPhone is locked onto Jio's network and will only be sold with bundled Jio plans. Contrary to earlier rumours, the device does not support dualSIMs and you cannot use it with any other network other than Jio. However, reports claim that Jio might roll out a dualSIM variant of the JioPhone sometime in October in which the first SIM will be locked to Jio's network and the second one will be free to be used with any other operator.

Also Read: JioPhone is free but here is how much you will pay for using it for 3 years

While the JioPhone seems like a very exciting device that will allow users access to free voice calls and data via 4G VoLTE at nominal costs, the lack of WhatsApp support might restrict its popularity. WhatsApp has become extremely popular across India even in small towns and cities and has replaced SMS as the preferred means of communication for a lot of people. A report by Gadget 360 claims that the JioPhone will not run WhatsApp initially although support for the popular messaging app might be added at a later stage.

Jio has its own messaging application in the form of JioChat and the the lack of WhatsApp support might be a deliberate move to popularise the company's own chat app. The JioPhone is 'effectively' free - users have to pay a security fee of Rs 1500 which will be refunded after three years if they decide to give back the phone.

Also Read: JioPhone seems great but it is probably missing 5 crucial features

The JioPhone will be August 15 onward with pre-booking starting from August 24. The phone will be available to everybody from September 2017. The JioPhone will come bundled with a Rs 153 monthly plan which will give users free voice calls, SMS, data and Jio app access every month.

There are also two sachet packs on offer which give a user two days and a week of unlimited voice and data for Rs 24 and Rs 54 respectively, although for now it is not clear if these packs are only for JioPhone users or for all Jio users.