Months after speculations, the WhatsApp for JioPhone has finally been launched in India. The private messaging app owned by Facebook informed that they built a new version of WhatsApp for JioPhone users across the country. On JioPhone, the WhatsApp will be running on KaiOS operating system. KaiOS is a Linux-based mobile operating system that allows a feature phone to offer the comfort of a smartphone. It is comparatively lightweight on hardware resource usage and is able to run on devices with just 256 MB of memory. In a recent report, KaiOS beat Apple's iOS for second place in India, while Android dominates with 71%. KaiOS growth had been largely due to the popularity of the JioPhone.
WhatsApp for JioPhone will be similar to other WhatsApp for Android or iOs. It will offer messaging and the ability to send photos and videos — all end-to-end encrypted. The users will also be able to record and send voice messages with just couple taps on the keypad. To get started, JioPhone users only need to verify their phone number and then they can begin chatting with other WhatsApp users one-on-one or in groups.
“Millions of people across India can now use WhatsApp private messaging on the best-in-class JioPhone across India,” said Chris Daniels, Vice President, WhatsApp. “By designing this new app for KaiOS, we hope to expand the ability for people to communicate with anyone in India and around the world by offering the best messaging experience possible to JioPhone users.”
Akash Ambani, Director, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, said, “During this movement of connecting the unconnected, many partners came forward to strengthen the cause. One such partner who has really stood by us from the beginning is Facebook and its ecosystem. The result of one such partnership is out for the world to see today. We will be providing WhatsApp, the most used chat application in the world, on all JioPhones starting today. Jio wants to thank the Facebook and WhatsApp team for making this happen.”
WhatsApp is available in the JioPhone AppStore starting September 10, 2018 and will be rolled out on all JioPhones by September 20, 2018. People can download WhatsApp on both the JioPhone and the JioPhone 2 by visiting the AppStore.
