YouTube is now widely available on Jio Phone. The Jio Phone and Jio Phone 2 can now run a dedicated YouTube app as Reliance Jio announced to make the smart feature phone smarter earlier this year. Originally scheduled to release on August 15, the YouTube app for Jio Phone began reaching the devices incrementally over time, however, the broader rollout has now begun, making YouTube available in the Jio Store app marketplace.
The Jio Phone and Jio Phone 2 users who want to download YouTube can go Jio Store and search for the app. Press on Install to begin the installation process. It should be noted that YouTube will run on the latest firmware, so you need to ensure beforehand that the Jio Phone and Jio Phone 2 are updated to KaiOS 2.5 with the build number F90M-000-03-06-290818. To update the software, go to Settings > Device > Software update.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at the company’s 41st AGM announced that Jio Phone will support three “most popular apps” – WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook. While YouTube and Facebook began rolling out starting August 15, WhatsApp arrived with a little delay. The rollout of YouTube, however, occurred in batches but the video streaming app is now openly available on Jio Phone and Jio Phone 2.
While the arrival of YouTube app on Jio Phone brings a relief to the users, there are a few tradeoffs that they will have to make. The YouTube app on Jio Phone does not support some functions natively available on the Android and iOS counterparts. There is no Dark Mode, Incognito Mode, or Downloads for offline viewing. The videos can be watched in both portrait and landscape mode. The navigation involves the use of D-Pad to choose the video and to search for the desired one. Jio Phone supports mirroring to larger screens via a dedicated cable, using which YouTube videos can be watched on TVs.
