Reliance is now offering 4G smartphones under Rs 3,000, way before expected launch

Indians can now lay their hands on smartphones supporting 4G technology for less than Rs 3,000 price barrier, thanks to the price cut that Reliance Retail announced for its latest Lyf-branded 4G voice over LTE (Volte)-enabled smartphones, viz. Flame 3, Flame 4, Flame 5 and Flame 6.

The phones were launched over a month ago, but now their prices have been slashed by 25% to Rs 2,999, much before the year-end limit that was predicted earlier. As per analysts, this move will put a lot of pressure on other smartphone makers, who would want to be in the market no matter what.

"This will definitely spur competition and Indian players may be forced to cut prices," Tarun Pathak, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, told ET. "But they shouldn't because they don't have the same revenue model as Lyf, which has the phone bundled with voice and data services."

Customers who buy Lyf mobiles get a Reliance Jio Infocomm SIM card with voice and data services; however, they are not restricted to use these phones only with the same SIM and can take services from other telecom operators.

In March 2016, the price bracket of Rs 1,600-6,600 took up over 40% share of the smartphone market, out of which half were in the Rs 5,000-6,600 range. This price segment attracts all Indian handset makers, who already have a large presence here, but still play aggressively.

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