Reliance Industries falls nearly 2% as Co delays JioPhone Next launch; should you buy?

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Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) declined nearly 2% in Monday’s early trade after the company delayed the launch of a low-cost smartphone which it is developing with Google. The scrip traded 1.93% lower at Rs 2,378.60 at around 10.50 am (IST). On the other hand, the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 219 points, or 0.38%, at 58,086.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio on Friday announced deferring the roll-out of the JioPhone Next – the low-priced smartphone it has developed with Google – to Diwali. The phone was previously to be launched on Ganesh Chaturthi, September 10.

Ambani at the shareholder meeting of his flagship Reliance Industries in June, had stated that the JioPhone Next will be available for purchase on September 10. The Jio Phone Next has been designed in partnership with Google and it is for those who are looking to upgrade from 2G to 4G connectivity.

Announcing the new timeline, the company, however, did not reveal the pricing of the phone.

Of late, shares of RIL jumped nearly 15% during the past one month till September 9. The BSE Sensex gained over 5% during the same period. Nilesh Jain, Technical Research Analyst, Centrum Broking believes that investors can buy the dip.

He believes Reliance Industries which is seeing a downtick at the moment, can be seen as a good point for long-term investors as there are no signs of a bigger correction. “RIL may touch Rs 2,600-2,800 levels soon or even Rs 3,000 by December.”

JioPhone Next is a first-of-its-kind device featuring an optimised operating system based on Android and Play Store. “The device and the operating system will offer premium capabilities that have until now been associated with more powerful smartphones, including voice-first features that enable people to consume content and navigate the phone in their own language, deliver a great camera experience, and get the latest Android feature and security updates,” it said.

Both companies have begun testing the JioPhone Next with a limited set of users for further refinement and are actively working to make it available more widely in time for the Diwali festive season.

“This additional time will also help mitigate the current industry-wide, global semiconductor shortages,” it said.