Is Reliance 4G phone a smart phone?

Reliance 4G Phone is not a smartphone but basic 4G phone.

Basic phones allow you to make call and accept calls. You can use basic apps like Facebook, twitter and Whatsapp. You can get and send SMS. And that's pretty much. At the most you can use Radio for streaming music along with few mp3 files stored. But unlike smartphones you can't do internet streaming, can't watch netflix and other music apps to listen to. So that's pretty much limits it's usage to very basic functionality of the phone.

It allows few selected apps to be run through the phone. But it does not offer a lot of smartphone features. So that limit's it's capacity to perform as a smartphone. This includes notification, graphics intensive app and game usage and few other tasks. It can be a good phone for those who don't like to work on media features. It seems like a good phone for those who prefer to use it for voice usage alone.

Smartphones are referred as those mobile phones that can do the job of a mini computer. Smartphones now incorporate a wide array of features that involves advanced computing ability as well as connectivity. On the other hand, the Basic phones are those ones that are made to perform only some basic features like making and receiving calls, sending and receiving text messages.

Smartphones are mobile phones that work on an operating system, very similar to that of a mini computer. Apart from the basic facilities like calling and sending messages, it should have computing capabilities, that include online surfing, video conferencing, good performing cameras, GPS navigation units, media players, etc. So any mobile phone that can do the work of a computer can be in a way considered as a smartphone.

Coming to the Jio 4G phone, it comes with a 2.40-inch display along with a resolution of 240 pixels by 320 pixels. Now in comparison to other smartphones in the market, the display quality doesn't even qualify to get compared. So, it doesn't qualify as a smartphone when it comes to the regular expectations.

The Jio Phone runs on a 1.2GHz dual-core SPRD 9820A/QC8905 processor and with 512MB of RAM though it gathers 4GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 128GB through a microSD card. It does have a pair of cameras too with a 2-megapixel primary camera and a 0.3-megapixel front shooter for selfies. There again it cannot be compared with the high-performance cameras we get to see in regular smartphones.

The Jio Phone operates on KAI OS powered by a 2000mAh removable battery, it is a single SIM (GSM) mobile with connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, FM, Headphones and supports a 4G network.

That makes in a disputable issue, whether or not we can call it a smartphone. Technically, we can say Yes, but when it comes to regular expectations, it would not qualify as one. Finally, few things depend upon the trends too. As it does have computing abilities, we cannot just reject it to be called as a smartphone, but certainly, it is not smart enough to be compared with today's smartphone models.

I would never consider Jio Phone as a smartphone. Needless to say, even the manufacturer or service provider claims it to be a smartphone. If you can call a phone a smartphone, it needs to have a host of features. In fact, it should be able to do a host of other functions like a miniature computer. Jio 4G phone cannot do any of these tasks.
The best can be it can be called is an advanced basic phone. What I mean by that? Well, it offers you more than what a basic phone can offer. You can make 4G VoLTE calls through it. It lets you have access to the Jio apps with diverse functionalities.

Should you go for it?
Well, not necessarily if you already have a smartphone. If you have smartphone with 4G connectivity options, just grab a Reliance Jio 4G SIM and use it with your phone. You can do a lot more than the Jio 4G phone. The 4G phone from Jio has been introduced for those who cannot afford a 4G enabled smartphone, yet want to make use of the best and economical Jio services. I do not see any practical reason for opting for a Jio phone for the sake of it if you own a smartphone already, or if you think you can afford a high end smartphone for that matter.
Yes, if you are looking for a secondary phone that may serve you in cases of emergencies, you may give it a thought. Rather than going for a basic phone, Jio phone will be a great idea. A basic phone with 4G VoLTE calls will be an added advantage.