JioPhone may get a special version of WhatsApp

Reliance Jio Feature Phones May Include WhatsApp: Reliance Jio have been in talks with WhatsApp employees to create a downgraded version of WhatsApp that can be coming with Reliance Jio Feature phones. Fixing JioPhone’s biggest disappointment will become its main USP, if Facebook and Jio engineers come through. It is a smart feature phone, which unlike other feature phones supports 4G aka LTE networks.


If the feature phone comes with WhatsApp, then there is more chance of smartphone users opt the mobile in case of backup and the normal users directly buying it to taste the WhatsApp. Now the only thing which people want to see in any phone is the ability to text their friends using WhatsApp which is also coming now into the mobile. What else a smartphone users can get other than these apps.

According to a report by Factor Daily, Reliance Jio is in talks with WhatsApp to provide a special version of the application on JioPhone. Since the application is not available on KaiOS (JioPhone's operating system), WhatsApp will have to tweak its application to introduce it on the JioPhone.

According to the report, the discussions are at a very nascent stage for now. "The talks are on. We already have a relationship with Facebook...There are technical challenges. A version (of WhatsApp) is needed that will work optimally on the JioPhone," a source close to Jio revealed.

JioPhone is being touted as 'India ka Smartphone' as it is aimed at the feature phone market, which is still a majority in the phone market. The company also launched exclusive data plans for the device. JioPhone will be launched for testing on 15 August, will be available for pre-booking from August 24 and will be commercially available by September this year.

Dreading the monopoly Reliance Jio can have on the cheap-segment devices and customers, other telecom operators are jumping into the race with their own offerings. Idea Cellular-Vodafone is also planning to introduce a cheap 4G smartphone at Rs 2,500. Being a smartphone, the company claims that it will be able to run basic applications like Facebook, WhatsApp and Google.