The launch of the much-anticipated JioPhone Next may not take place on Friday.

Late tonight, the telecom giant put out a press release in which it said that Reliance Jio and partner Google had “made considerable progress” towards launching the device and were “working to make it available more widely in time for the Diwali festive season”.

The release added that the two partners had started testing the cheap smartphone device — which is expected to widen the footprint of the country’s largest telecom company by subscriber base — “with a limited set of users for further refinement”.

JioPhone Next is being touted as a first-of-its-kind device that will feature 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”, the release added.

“The additional time will also help mitigate the current industry-wide global semiconductor shortage,” the company said.

Meanwhile, Jio-BP, the fuel and mobility joint venture between RIL and the UK’s BP, has announced a partnership with BluSmart — India’s first and largest all-electric ridehailing platform — to set up a network of commercial EV charging stations.