Got an old computer? Jio says it can turn it into an AI-ready PC without new hardware

That ageing laptop gathering dust at home may not need replacing just yet.

Reliance Jio has expanded a cloud computing service that it says can give even computers as old as eight years access to the processing power needed to run modern applications and AI tools — without users opening the machine or installing new hardware.

The service, called JioPC, is now available as a standalone subscription to anyone in India with an internet connection. It was previously limited to JioHome broadband customers.

Instead of relying on the processor, memory and storage inside your laptop or desktop, JioPC essentially streams a more powerful virtual computer from Jio's data centres to the screen in front of you.

Think of it in much the same way as streaming a movie rather than storing the entire film on your computer.

With JioPC, much of the actual computing takes place remotely. Users access their virtual PC through a supported web browser, while Jio's cloud handles the processing and stores their data.

That means an older computer with relatively modest specifications can effectively access more powerful computing resources without having its processor, RAM or storage physically upgraded.

Jio offers configurations with up to eight virtual CPUs, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of cloud storage. The operating system is Ubuntu Linux.

Jio says the service can be used for work, education and content creation, as well as accessing AI tools and newer applications.

The company also says no data is kept on the user's device, with files instead stored in its cloud infrastructure.

That's Jio's pitch.

The company says computing-intensive AI processing can take place in the cloud, allowing even an eight-year-old computer to access the performance required by today's AI-powered applications.

This could be particularly attractive in India, where people are keeping computers for longer.

India had more than 65 million PCs in use in 2025, according to IDC estimates cited by TechCrunch, with that number expected to approach 69 million by the end of 2026.

Consumers and small businesses now typically replace their computers every five to six years, compared with every four to five years in 2022, IDC senior market analyst Bharath Shenoy told TechCrunch.

Jio is effectively betting that some of those users would rather pay for additional computing power than buy another laptop.

The entry-level JioPC plan costs ₹1,000 (about Dh41) for two months and provides 8GB of RAM and 500GB of cloud storage.

Five months costs ₹2,000 (about Dh82), while a 12-month package — marketed as 10 months plus two additional months — costs ₹4,000 (about Dh164).

JioPC Ultra increases the specification to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It costs ₹1,200 (about Dh49) for two months, ₹2,500 (about Dh103) for five months or ₹5,000 (about Dh205) for 12 months.

Users don't have to be Jio broadband customers. Jio says the browser-based version works with any internet connection.

An old laptop running JioPC doesn't suddenly become a powerful new computer internally.

The additional computing power is coming from Jio's servers.

That means a reliable internet connection is essential. If connectivity is poor or disappears entirely, the experience can deteriorate or the cloud PC can become inaccessible — unlike applications and files running locally on a conventional computer.

There is also an important distinction around Jio's use of the term “AI-ready”.

The latest generation of conventional AI PCs from major computer manufacturers typically contains dedicated processors or neural processing units designed to run AI workloads directly on the device.

Jio has not disclosed dedicated local AI accelerators for JioPC. Instead, its proposition is to give an older device access to AI-capable computing through the cloud.

That's ultimately the bigger experiment behind JioPC.

Instead of upgrading a computer because its processor is becoming outdated or it doesn't have enough RAM, users could theoretically keep the physical device and upgrade the computing resources they access online.

CyberMedia Research vice-president Prabhu Ram told TechCrunch that this could create a separate, price-sensitive market for households and students for whom buying a new AI-capable PC was unlikely in the first place.

But cloud PCs are unlikely to eliminate conventional computers altogether.

Users must be willing to pay a recurring subscription, depend on internet connectivity and accept that much of their computing is happening somewhere else.

For someone staring at an eight-year-old laptop and wondering whether it's finally time to buy a new one, however, Jio is proposing another option:

Don't replace the computer.

Move the powerful part of it to the cloud.