Karbonn is a name that you may not have heard for some time now. But the homegrown phonemaker is making a comeback.

Karbonn has announced that it is re-entering the Indian smartphone market, with a focus on bringing new devices for Gen Z and content creators.The company made the announcement via a press release. Pradeep Jain, CEO of Karbonn’s parent company Jaina Group, said that the company hoped to bring affordable devices to Gen Z. “Over the last couple of years, India’s phone market has climbed in price while the number of Indians buying has flatlined, proof that some of our most important buyers are being priced out rather than served,” he said in a release.The increase in smartphone prices can largely be attributed to rising memory prices.

Phonemakers including Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Nothing, have hiked smartphone prices in recent months. Apple too increased prices of older iPhones last month.When will Karbonn launch its next phone?However, Karbonn has not given a timeline or any details of when it may launch its next smartphone.

But the company has teased a device through a dedicated microsite on Amazon. The microsite mentions the name Karbonn Rebel 5G.

Though the specs, design, launch date, and price remain unclear for now. In August this year, reports also surfaced about a Karbonn ZenZ Pro 4G phone being spotted on Geekbench with a MediaTek chipset.

Karbonn Mobiles had been largely absent from India’s smartphone market for a few years now. The company was formed as a joint venture between Delhi-based Jaina Group and Bengaluru-based UTL Group.

Karbonn’s first Android smartphone was the Karbonn A1, launched in 2011.Karbon’s re-entry comes at a time when we are seeing a new wave of Indian phonemakers. Companies including Mivi, Fireboltt, and AI Plus have launched smartphones in the past year.

The three companies have targeted the budget end of the segment, largely under Rs 20,000. We can expect Karbonn to adopt a similar strategy.The government is also promoting local smartphone manufacturing in India through the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS).

Recently, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that we may see smartphones being fully designed and made in India by 2028. London-based phonemaker Nothing has also spun off its sub-brand CMF into an India-based company with Optiemus acquiring a majority stake.- Ends