Confirming our earlier report that Reliance Jio is all set to launch its LYF handsets and bundled SIM cards early in February, Reliance Digital — the retail arm of the group — has listed the first four handsets on its website.
As of now, the listing doesn’t really tell you much: It just asks you to fill in your contact details and select your nearest store. The store will get in touch with you if and when the phone stock is available.
None of the cheap, Snapdragon 410-based handsets have been listed on Reliance Digital right now, and only the relatively costlier Snapdragon 615-based handsets are available.
Currently, three variants are on offer — LYF Water 1 and 2 and Earth 1. The Water 1 and 2 are priced at Rs 14,999 and Rs 14,690, while the Earth 1 is priced at Rs 23,990.
All of these phones are expected to come with freebies worth Rs 10,000 (click here to know more.)
As we’ve revealed earlier, the LYF Water 1 comes with a full-HD display, while the Water 2 handset has a 720p screen. Both are 5-inch devices.
The Water 1 is definitely the better choice, as — in addition to the full-HD display — it also supports the 800 MHz band, which is crucial for getting indoor coverage. The Water 2 does not support 800 MHz and may run into signal issues indoors.
The Water 1 also comes with a slightly bigger, 2.6 Ah battery instead of the 2.4 Ah unit on Water 2.
Both LYF phones have 16 GB of built-in memory and 13 MP cameras supported by 5 MP front units.
All the three phones are powered by 1.5 GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm MSM8939 processors.
The Earth 1 is the highest speced phone, and comes with a full-HD 5.5-inch AMOLED display, which should offer a decent bump in overall experience and feel.
This model, priced at Rs 23,990, also supports Band 5 (800 MHz) LTE.
Unlike the other two, which came with 2 GB of RAM, this one has 3 GB, and also double the internal storage. At the back is a dual-camera set up with a 13 MP unit helped by a 2 MP contrast camera, while the front unit continues to be of 5 MP.
LYF Earth 1 gets a 3.5 Ah battery, which is supposed to provide a 4G talktime of 6.3 hours.
CHEAPER PHONES COMING
These are only the first wave of handsets. According to our sources, by Feb first week, Jio will also bring in cheaper, Snapdragon 410-based handsets.
These will have only 5-inch, 720p displays, but will come with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. Camera resolution too will be decent at 13 MP and 5 MP.
Again, some of these models will support Band 5 (850 MHz), which is required for smooth indoor usage, while others won’t.
As is the norm, these cheaper LYF phones will also have sensors like Gravity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor and E-compass.
They will be priced in four digits.
As we have reported, Reliance Jio will launch its LYF-branded phones by the first week of February in at least 13 cities and these handsets will come with the company’s own fully-functional SIM cards and 50 GB of free 4G data, according to retailing sources.
According to these sources, the thirteen cities include the five metros — Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, plus Baroda, Kochi, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Indore and Patna.
Tens of thousands of LYF phones have reached godowns in each of these cities and the company has already built up a stockpile of millions of LYF phones, indicating that it expects the sale to be a big success. Typically, companies like Lenovo and Xiaomi hold sales with only 40,000-50,000 handsets.
The phones are likely to carry 50 GB of free 4G data, 5,000 minutes of free talk time on Reliance Jio 4G network and 5,000 free SMS. At Rs 100 per GB and Rs 0.50 per minute and SMS, these freebies are worth Rs 10,000 (Rs 5000+2,500+2,500).
LYF PHONE COMPARISON
| Model No | Water 1 | Water 2 | Earth 1 |
| Screen Size (Diagonal) | 5 inch | 5 inch | 5.5 inch |
| Display Type | LCD | LCD | AMOLED |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 – HD | 1280 x 720 – HD | 1920 x 1080 – HD |
| Sensors | Ambient Light, Proximity, E-Compass, Accelerometer | Accelerometer, Proximity, Hall Sensor, Gyro Sensor | Ambient Light, Proximity, E-Compass, Accelerometer |
| Glass Type | No | No | No |
| 4G Bands | FDD BAND3(1800)/BAND5(850), TDD BAND40(2300) | FDD BAND3(1800), TDD BAND40(2300) | FDD BAND3(1800)/BAND5(850), TDD BAND40(2300) |
| Processor | 1.5 GHz Octa Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 | 1.5 GHz Octa Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 | 1.5 GHz Octa Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 |
| Memory(RAM) | 2 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| Expandable Memory | up to 32 GB | up to 32 GB | up to 32 GB |
| Internal Storage | 16 GB | 16 GB | 32 GB |
| Primary Camera | 13 MP | 13 MP | 13 + 2 MP |
| Secondary Camera | 5 MP | 5 MP | 5 MP |
| FM Radio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Operating System | Android v5.1.1 (Lollipop) | Android v5.0.2 (Lollipop) | Android v5.1.1 (Lollipop) |
| Talk Time | Up to 5 hours (3G), Up to 4.5 hours (4G) | Up to 10 hours (2G), Up to 12 hours (3G) | 7 Hours (3G), 6.3 Hours (4G) |
| 4G | Yes – VoLTE | Yes – VoLTE | Yes – VoLTE |
| Battery Capacity | 2600 mAh | 2400 mAh | 3500 mAh |
| Warranty | 12 Months | 12 Months | 12 Months |