Jio offers 15 months of free service to new iPhone users

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio will offer free voice calls, 20GB data and unlimited SMS for one year, worth Rs 18,000, to all new iPhone users on its network.

All new iPhone users on Jio network can avail this offer from January 1 next year after their 'welcome plan' expires on December 31, 2016. Under this new scheme, the iPhone users on Jio's network will receive one year of complimentary services, sources said.  

This means people who buy any iPhone device from Reliance Retail or Apple store and use Jio connection would get the 'Welcome Offer' completely free till December 31, 2016. From January 1, all these iPhone users will get the Rs 1,499 plan completely free for 1 year, which equals value worth Rs 18,000.

The Rs 1,499 plan includes unlimited local and STD voice calling and national roaming, 4G Data of up to 20 GB, unlimited 4G data at night, 40GB of WiFi data, unlimited SMS and unlimited Jio Apps subscription.

Sources said this translates into 15 months of Jio services absolutely free for new iPhone buyers. The Jio offer is not restricted only to newly launched iPhone 7 and 7-Plus and would also be valid on iPhone 6, 6-Plus, 6S-Plus, SE.

Also, for the first time ever, enterprise customers will get a 25 per cent discount on the device and attractive tariff plans. Jio is a 4G-only network, as compared to all other networks in India that are 100 per cent 2G, 50 per cent 3G and 10 per cent 4G.

Apple users on Jio network would get to enjoy 100 per cent 4G-data experience, High Definition voice calls (powered by VoLTE), High Definition Facetime calls, Buffer-free HD video viewing and 300 channels of Live TV.

Reliance Jio's rival Airtel is also offering 10GB free 4G/3G data per month for one year with any Airtel Infinity post-paid plan. The free data benefit will be over and above the plan benefits, it said.

"We are delighted to roll out this exciting data offer for our users to allow them to get the most out of the amazing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus," Bharti Airtel Director Operations (India and South Asia) Ajai Puri said.

The latest edition of the iPhone has been launched in India on Friday across multiple platforms like Apple resellers, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Tata Cliq. Most of these companies are bundling in offers to woo customers in the world's second largest telephony market.

While Snapdeal has teamed up with American Express to offer the latter's card members a discount of Rs 10,000 on the purchase of the device. Tata CliQ is offering its customers Rs 10,000 deferred cashback with HDFC credit and debit cards (issued in India).

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB storage variants in silver, gold and rose gold colours. The new jet black colour variant will come only in 128GB and 256GB variants. While the 32GB phone will be available for Rs 60,000, the pricing of the other models has not been disclosed. iPhone 7 features a 4.7-inch display with 3D touch, while iPhone 7 Plus has a 5.5-inch Retina HD display with 3D touch.

Both the smartphones are powered by a new quad-core Apple A10 Fusion processor, which it claims is 40 per cent faster than the previous generation. The iOS 10-powered iPhone 7 sports a 12MP iSight camera and 4K video recording. The iPhone 7 Plus has dual 12MP rear cameras - one wide-angle and a telephoto lens.

The handsets come with IP67 rating, signifying the fact that it is water and dust resistant, a first for the Apple smartphone. The Cupertino-based company is betting big on the Indian market. In July, Apple CEO Tim Cook had said that India is one of its fastest growing markets.