Indonesia’s ban on Apple and Google disappointed the country’s tech fans. technology

Medan, Indonesia – Winston, a medical doctor who lives and works in the capital of North Sumatra province, is a self-proclaimed Apple fan.

Currently the proud owner of an iPhone 15, Vinson was waiting to upgrade to the latest model, the iPhone 16, released in September.

However, Winston has reluctantly abandoned the idea since the Indonesian government banned the sale of the iPhone 16 and Google Pixel in late October, with the tech giants complying with the country’s Tingkat Komponen Dalam Negeri, or TKDN, policy. Failure to do so was cited. Which requires the phone to source at least 40 percent of its parts locally.

“Indonesian rules about iPhones hit me once, and once was enough,” Winston, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told Al Jazeera.

While Winston can buy an iPhone abroad to bring back home – a relatively common practice that is legal as long as the phone is not resold – he has been burned by Indonesian regulations before.

“I bought the iPhone 11 in Singapore in 2019 because it was much cheaper than in Indonesia, about $250 cheaper in fact. At that time a round-trip ticket to Singapore was only $120. You could fly to Singapore and back to Indonesia in the same day, so it was more cost-effective,” he said.

Winston used the phone for about a year without any problems, until the Indonesian government issued a regulation in 2022 that all phones be registered.

He said, despite registering his phone as required, the device suddenly lost signal one day and would not reconnect to the network even with a different SIM card.

“I went to a licensed Apple product reseller in Medan because I thought there was a problem with the phone, but they just said, ‘There’s nothing we can do or suggest,'” he said.

Frustrated with an unusable iPhone, Winston, who has no problems with his current iPhone 15, which he purchased through a licensed reseller, sold the device at a loss at a secondhand store during a subsequent trip to Singapore.

Indonesia, the fourth most populous country with about 280 million people, is one of the world’s largest smartphone markets.

According to market research firm Newzoo, the archipelago was home to about 190 million smartphone users in 2022.

According to Industry Ministry data, before the authorities announced the ban, the country imported about 22,000 Google Pixel phones and 9,000 iPhone 16s in 2024.

Smartphone shipments in Indonesia were dominated by devices made by China’s Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo and South Korea’s Samsung.

Abdul Soleh, a lawyer in Medan, said the prohibitively expensive price of the iPhone 16 for many Indonesians may explain why there was not more vocal opposition to the ban.

“It’s really a shame, because iPhones are very popular in Indonesia and their user satisfaction rates are high,” Soleh told Al Jazeera.

“It would be better if iPhone 16 could be sold in Indonesia because there are a lot of fans here.”

Khairul Mahalli, head of the Chamber of Commerce in North Sumatra, said Indonesia’s TKDN policy is intended to support local industry, but it may have unintended consequences.

“As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a trade industry working between countries, it is right to protect our industries, but we also need checks and balances,” Mahalli told Al Jazeera.

“One of the issues for the future may be that, if Indonesia blocks the sale of certain products, other countries may do the same and will not accept the sale of Indonesian products in the international market.”

Mahali said it is the government’s job to find ways to mitigate the damage to local industries that are less stringent than a complete ban on foreign products.

“We do not need to completely ban foreign sales, as Indonesia’s market is large enough to accommodate foreign products due to its large population of more than 270 million people,” he said.

“We need to see whether local production can meet consumer demand.”

Rio Priambodo, head of the legal and complaints department of the non-profit Indonesia Consumer Organization, said consumers should think twice about purchasing the latest iPhone models, especially through illegal resellers in the country.

“The consumer organization recommends that consumers do not try to purchase the iPhone 16 in any way if it has been banned by the government,” Priyambodo told Al Jazeera.

“If purchases are made illegally, this would remove the dimension of consumer protection that all customers should have.”

To break the impasse, Apple has promised to dramatically increase its investment in the country in exchange for the lifting of the ban.

In November, the California-based tech giant offered to invest $100 million over two years in the country, 10 times more than a previous pledge to invest $100 million in building an accessories and components factory in Bandung, West Java .

Despite the proposal, the Industry Ministry appeared unperturbed.

“From the government’s point of view, of course, we want this investment to be larger,” spokesman Fabry Hendry Antoine Arif said at the time.

On 25 November, Jakarta formally rejected the proposal, with Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita saying it did not meet Indonesia’s “principles of impartiality”.

He said Apple has invested more significant amounts in neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, including $15 billion for manufacturing facilities in the latter.

“Based on the technical assessment, the investment amount does not meet the figure we consider appropriate,” he said.

“We want Apple to return to doing business here, but we need a fair resolution.”

Meanwhile, Apple fans like Winston are facing the prospect of having to do without the latest models for the foreseeable future.

“I understand the ban is for political reasons because Apple doesn’t want to invest in Indonesia, and I stand with our government. But I will never buy an iPhone abroad again,” he said.