iWorld
Sub Rs 3K LYF 4G smartphones
MUMBAI: Bringing Mukesh Ambani’s vision of digitising the entire country to get its people to use the internet a step closer to fruition, LYF Smartphone+, the True 4G smartphone brand from Reliance Retail, has pushed the envelope of affordability in the Indian smartphone space by announcing a very aggressive price of Rs. 2999 on four of its Flame models – Flame 3, Flame 4, Flame 5 and Flame 6. This move also resonates with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a digitally-connected India says a Reliance Retail press release.
The Indian device ecosystem always featured a clear line of distinction between smartphone users and featurephone users with price acting as a major barrier. With the introduction of 4G smartphones at a price which rivals that of featurephones, LYF has made it easy for featurephone users to upgrade to smartphones.
Like all LYF devices, the Flame series too offers smartphones equipped with VoLTE, or voice over LTE — a technology that enables the device to provide advanced features such as faster call setup, high-definition (HD) voice and video calling, seamless switching between voice and video calls and multi-party conferencing on a 4G LTE network.
The dual-SIM slots, a characteristic feature of every Flame phone, allow users to simultaneously use a 4G SIM in either of the slots. Further, all LYF devices come with a free Jio preview offer, under which every user buying a LYF phone gets access to the entire range of Jio services, Flame series provides a platform for users to migrate from older networks such as 2G or 3G to the more advanced 4G ecosystem. In addition to this, Flame series also offer smart aesthetic features and superior hardware technology claims the Reliance Retail release.
With all the models being equipped with a primary camera and also a front camera, or a selfie-shooter, Flame series allows users to shoot images of all types with a range of photography features such as HDR, panorama, face detection, smile shutter, burst mode, slow motion video, metering, white balance, anti-banding and ISO.
Will the competition, especially the Chinese smartphone manufacturers for whom India is a focus market, react with aggressive price points? Only time can tell. The Indian consumer will definitely benefit with lower priced smartphones, bringing closer the mission of Indian political and industry leaders to have every Indian connected.
Also read:
Reliance Retail launches LYF Wind 5 smartphone
Reliance Jio’s mid-segment LYF Water 5 smartphone launches on Amazon
iWorld
T20 World Cup ’26: India–England semi-final sets global streaming record of 619 million views on JioHotstar
India–England semi-final records 65.2 million peak streams
MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set a new milestone in global sports streaming, as the India–England semi-final drew record digital audiences on JioHotstar.
The match on 5 March registered 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, the highest ever recorded for a live event on any streaming platform worldwide. The semi-final also generated 619 million views, making it the most streamed T20 international match in history.
The landmark audience numbers were driven largely by viewers in India, setting a record achieved within a single market, rather than through aggregated viewership across multiple countries.
The high-scoring encounter between India national cricket team and England cricket team produced 499 runs across both innings, fuelling widespread fan engagement across platforms.
According to the International Cricket Council, the digital record surpassed the previous global benchmark of 65 million concurrent viewers, set in November 2024 by another international streaming platform.
Across television and digital platforms combined, the semi-final reached more than 320 million viewers, while total watch time exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most watched T20 international match ever.
“This World Cup demonstrates the immense passion of cricket fans and the progress made in bringing the game closer to audiences worldwide,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah.
“This moment reflects the scale of cricket fandom in India and the technological capability required to serve hundreds of millions of viewers simultaneously.”
JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar, said the audience surge underscored the future of large-scale digital entertainment.
“One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final. Delivering such an experience at scale requires the very best of technology,” he said.
The 619 million views during the match also eclipsed the 533 million views recorded during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the final yet to be played, the 2026 tournament has already set multiple benchmarks in audience reach and digital engagement.
India will face the New Zealand national cricket team in the final on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
