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 September 10. Ambani at the shareholder meeting of his flagship Reliance Industries Ltd 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. Reliance Jio and Google "have made considerable progress towards launching the much-awaited JioPhone Next, the made-for-India smartphone being jointly designed by the companies," the statement said.