Indonesia’s Apple and Google Bans Frustrate Country’s Tech Fans

Al Jazeera | 1 January 2025

Jakarta has banned sales of the iPhone16 and Google Pixel under regulations that require phones to use local components.

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, Winston had been looking forward to upgrading to the latest model, the iPhone 16, released in September.

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

“Indonesian regulations about iPhones 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 is legal as long as the phone is not resold – he has been burned by Indonesian regulations before.

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