India’s Jio Launches JioMeet – A Free Video-Conferencing App That Takes on Zoom, Google Meet & Microsoft Teams

• An all-new video-conferencing app arrives from India’s telecommunications giant, and it is called JioMeet.
• The app promises a list of highly attractive features that go beyond what Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams offer.
• JioMeet is available free of charge, and it comes with apps for all currently popular platforms (both mobile and desktop).

During the last week, India has been the epicenter of some groundbreaking technology-related news. The country has decided to ban a large group of Chinese apps, leaving millions of smartphone users looking for alternatives (which might include using a VPN as well). As one could expect, Indians are turning to local app developers, who now have a task to compete with the world’s biggest apps and platforms. All of this is happening while the country is battling the Coronavirus outbreak, forcing millions to change their daily lives and typical workflows.

We’ve seen plenty of Indian developers starting to offer their alternatives in these past days. However, the most significant push yet comes from India’s telecommunications giant – Reliance Jio, headquartered in Mumbai. The company has officially launched JioMeet, a free-of-charge video-conferencing app that tries to battle against widely used competitors, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and numerous more (check out the best group video chat apps). Considering the size of the Indian market and the fact that millions are working from their homes, JioMeet comes at the best possible moment, as it seems.

JioMeet’s Interface - Image Courtesy of TechNadu.

The application has already managed to achieve significant success, having been downloaded more than 100,000 times on Android only. Aside from that operating system, JioMeet is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Web browsers (Chrome and Firefox).

If we go through JioMeet’s list of features, we’ll see an excellent range of video-conferencing options. The application allows you to sign-up using your phone number or email. You’re also free to install an app or use a JioMeet invite link to use the service in a Web browser (without downloading the application).

Also, the application allows video-conferencing up with up 100 individuals at a time. There are also waiting rooms and screen-sharing features. And unlike its competitors, JioMeet allows you to conduct meetings for up to 24 hours without interruption. Once again, all of these features are free of charge, which automatically makes JioMeet a viable alternative to its direct competitors.

JioMeet and Zoom - a thread.

Screen 1 - Landing Page. pic.twitter.com/TC1HEJLUX1

— SG (@shrinivassg) July 3, 2020

We’d also like to note that numerous Twitter users have noticed uncanny similarities between JioMeet and Zoom in terms of their interfaces. Apparently, JioMeet wasn’t afraid of copying Zoom’s interface, and this goes down even to the smallest bits - such as iconography and color schemes.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the app promises HD video quality even at lower bandwidth due to back-end optimizations. JioMeet also promises to respect your privacy, as all your meetings are encrypted and password-protected. Therefore, it looks like JioMeet covers not only the basics of what an excellent video-conferencing app should be - but also plenty beyond that.