While on one hand, the smartphone world is swamped with premium smartphones, India is witnessing a new trend in the feature phone or entry-level smartphone category. Just like the telecom revolution, this is highly attributed to Reliance Jio Phone. Mukesh Ambani revealed ‘India ka Smartphone’ back in July 2017 and the device recently went off for its first sale. However, companies like Karbonn and Micromax has also joined this race offering similarly spec’d feature or smartphone with similar offers. After Micromax launched its Bharat 2 Ultra yesterday, let’s dig in and compare it with the mighty Jio Phone and Karbonn’s recently launched A40 4G smartphone.
Before we dive into the effective price formula each device comes with, let’s look at some technical specifications.
Micromax Bharat 2 Ultra
Starting off with the latest entrant, Micromax launched the new Bharat 2 Ultra in partnership with Vodafone at an effective price of Rs 999. Let’s keep the price aside and look at the specifications for the Bharat 2 Ultra.
>4-inch WVGA Display (480 x 800 pixels)
>1.3-GHz Quad-Core Spreadtrum SC9832 processor
>512MB RAM | 4GB internal storage
>2 MP Rear Camera | 0.3 MP Front Camera
>Android 6.0 Marshmallow
>1300 mAh Battery
>Dual SIM support
>4G-VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Now the first thing to note here is that Bharat 2 Ultra is a smartphone running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow which in itself is a pretty strong purchasing reason. However, things like no expandable storage and dated Android version might be turning the bottle for some consumers.
Karbonn A40 4G
Going by the descending chronological order, Karbonn also came up with a Jio Phone competitor recently partnering with Airtel. The Karbonn A40 4G comes with an effective price of Rs 1,399 and here are the specifications.
>4-inch WVGA Display (480 x 800 pixels)
>1.3-GHz Quad-Core Spreadtrum SC9832 processor
>1GB RAM | 8GB internal storage (expandable up to 32GB)
>2 MP Rear Camera | 0.3 MP Front Camera
>Android 7.0 Nougat
>1400 mAh Battery
>Dual SIM support
>4G-VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Karbonn’s A40 4G ups the game even more with 1GB RAM and Android 7.0 Nougat. Further, it also comes with expandable internal storage which is a plus point as well.
Jio Phone
Let’s come to the Jio Phone now, which is essentially a feature phone but the company claims that it is a smartphone in disguise. Here are the specifications.
>2.4-inch QVGA Display (240 x 320 pixels)
>1.2-GHz Dual-Core Snapdragon 210 processor
>512MB RAM | 4GB internal storage (expandable up to 128GB)
>2 MP Rear Camera | 0.3 MP Front Camera
>KAI OS
>2000 mAh Battery
>Dual SIM support
>4G-VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC
Although Jio Phone will surely struggle in the software department, the bigger 2000 mAh battery, expandable storage, and a dedicated Voice Assistant do make it a real deal for the price of Rs 1,500.
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Effective Price
Now, let’s highlight the different pricing that each company has followed. Effective Price here means that you will have to make more than what is being advertised initially and will get the refund after a stipulated period of time.
Jio Phone Price
Reliance Jio claims that the Jio Phone is effectively free if you use the device for 3 years and give it back to the company. Let’s break it down.
Initial Payment: ₹1,500
Usage Duration for refund : 3 Years
Condition: The Jio SIM should be active all throughout the 3 year period.
Eligible recharge amount for refund: ₹1,500 per annum or ₹4,500 for 3 years
If returned before 3 years, Early Charges applicable – Rs 1,500 (
Actual Minimum Cost (If all conditions are met) – ₹4,500
Karbonn A40 4G
Now just like Jio Phone, there are a bunch of conditions attached to Karbonn A40 effective price of Rs 1,399. Here it is.
Initial Payment: ₹2,899
Usage Duration for refund : 3 Years
Eligible recharge amount for refund : ₹3,000 for first 18 months + ₹3,000 for remaining 18 months
Refund (If all conditions are met): Rs 500 in first 18 months + Rs 1,000 in next 18 months
Actual Minimum Cost (If all conditions are met) – ₹7,399
Micromax Bharat 2 Ultra
Things here are quite similar to Karbonn A40 4G here.
Initial Payment: ₹2,899
Usage Duration for refund : 3 Years
Eligible recharge amount for refund: ₹150 per month for 36 months (₹5400)
Refund (If all conditions are met): Rs 900 in first 18 months + Rs 1,000 in next 18 months
Actual Minimum Cost (If all conditions are met) – ₹6,399
Which one should you choose?
Well, things do get a little complicated here. Both the Karbonn A40 4G and Micromax Bharat 2 Ultra are smartphones but come with a relatively more actual minimum cost. On the other hand, Jio Phone offers its own feature phone experience at an actual minimum cost of Rs 3,000 which is less than half of what you will end up spending on other two options. Further, Reliance Jio still has the most budget-friendly tariffs even though we still get occasional call drops. Nevertheless, what do you think? What will you buy, if given an option? Let us know in the comment section below.