Indonesia’s Apple and Google bans frustrate the country’s tech fans | Technology

Medan, Indonesia – Winston, a 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, Winson had been waiting to upgrade to the latest model, the iPhone 16, released in September.

Winston, however, gave up on the idea, as the Indonesian government banned the sale of the iPhone 16 and Google Pixel in late October, citing the tech giants’ failure to comply with the country’s policy Tingkat Komponen Dalam Negeri, or TKDN,. which requires phones to source at least 40 percent of their parts locally.

“The Indonesian regulation on the iPhone hit me once, and once was enough,” Winston, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told Al Jazeera.

While Winston could buy an iPhone overseas to bring back home — a relatively common practice that’s legal, as long as the phone isn’t resold — he’s 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. A one-way ticket to Singapore at that time was only $120. I could fly to Singapore and back to Indonesia the same day, so it was more cost-effective,” he said.

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

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, he said.

“I went to a licensed Apple product dealer 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.

Saddled with an unusable iPhone, Winston, who had no problems with his current iPhone 15, which he bought through a licensed reseller, sold the device at a loss at a second-hand store during a subsequent visit to Singapore.

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

The archipelago was home to around 190 million smartphone users in 2022, according to market research company Newzoo.

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

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 that the prohibitive price of the iPhone 16 for many Indonesians could explain why there has not been more opposition to the ban.

“It’s a real shame, because iPhones are very popular and have a high rate of user satisfaction in Indonesia,” Soleh told Al Jazeera.

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

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

“As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a trade industry that works between countries, it is good to protect our industries, but we also need checks and balances in place,” Mahalli said. at Al Jazeera.

“One of the problems for the future could be that if Indonesia blocks the sale of certain products, other countries may do the same and no longer accept the sale of Indonesian products on the international market.”

Mahalli said it was the government’s job to find ways to minimize damage to local industries that are less drastic than bans on foreign products.

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

“We have to look at whether local production can keep up with consumer demand.”

Rio Priambodo, head of the legal and complaints department at the non-profit Consumer Organization Indonesia, said consumers should think twice about buying the latest iPhone model, especially through illegal dealers in the country

“The Consumer Organization recommends that consumers do not just try to buy the iPhone 16 by any means possible if it has been banned by the government,” Priambodo told Al Jazeera.

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

In an attempt to break the impasse, Apple has promised to drastically increase its investment in the country in exchange for lifting the ban.

In November, the California-based technology giant proposed to invest $100 million in the country over two years, a 10-fold increase from an earlier commitment to pour $10 million into the construction of a factory of accessories and components in Bandung, West Java.

Despite the offer, the Ministry of Industry seemed unmoved.

“From the government’s perspective, of course, we want this investment to be bigger,” Febri Hendri spokesman Antoni Arif said at the time.

On Nov. 25, Jakarta formally rejected the offer, with Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita saying it did not meet Indonesia’s “fairness principles.”

He said that 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 technocratic evaluation, the investment amount did not meet the figure we considered fair,” he said.

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

Meanwhile, Apple fans like Winston face the prospect of doing without the latest models for the foreseeable future.

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