BackApple iPhone 16 banned for sale in Indonesia: What's the controversy about? Explained
Indonesia has banned the sale of Apple's iPhone 16 for not meeting local investment regulations. The Ministry of Industry indicated that the device cannot be sold until Apple fulfills the 40% domestic content requirement.
PremiumApple's latest iPhone 16 has been banned from sale in Indonesia due to non-compliance with the local investment requirements in the Southeast Asian country. In a statement, Indonesia's Ministry of Industry stated that the iPhone 16 cannot be marketed or sold in the country until the Cupertino-based tech giant meets the 40% domestic content requirements for smartphones and tablets.
Although Apple is not among the top six players in the Indonesian market, Indonesia continues to be a lucrative market for tech companies, with over 350 million active smartphone users in the country and 100 million people under the age of 30. According to IDC data from May, Oppo and Samsung were the top two players in the Indonesian smartphone market.
Why is iPhone 16 banned in Indonesia?
Indonesia's Industry Ministry says (via Bloomberg) that Apple has only invested 1.5 trillion rupiah in Indonesia, compared to its commitment of 1.7 trillion rupiah. Notably, Apple does not have any manufacturing facilities in the country, while rivals like Xiaomi and Samsung have set up their facilities to comply with Indonesia's domestic content regulation rolled out in 2017.
However, Apple has been establishing developer academies in Indonesia since 2018 to comply with local regulations. Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Indonesia in April this year and met with former President Joko Widodo and his successor, Prabowo Subianto. After the meeting, Cook stated that Widodo wanted Apple to set up a manufacturing facility in the country, which is a possibility the company is exploring.
Indonesia's Industry Ministry states that only 9,000 units of the iPhone 16 have reached the country this year, brought in for personal use and not available for trade, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, the news of the iPhone 16 ban also coincides with the release of the first wave of Apple Intelligence (AI) features rolling out to the iPhone 16 series and iPhone 15 Pro models via the iOS 18.1 update. The new update brings many notable upgrades, including system-wide writing tools, a revamped Photos app, a more conversational and natural-sounding Siri, and call recording..
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