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

Medan, Indonesia – Winston, a doctor who lives and works in the capital of North Sumatra Province, calls himself an Apple fan.

Currently the proud owner of an iPhone 15, Winson was looking forward to upgrading to the latest model, the iPhone 16, which was released in September.

However, Winston dropped the idea after the Indonesian government banned sales of the iPhone 16 and 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 source at least 40 percent of their components locally.

“Indonesia's laws about iPhones hit me once, and that's enough,” Winston, who goes by the mononym Indonesian populist, told Al Jazeera.

Although Winston bought an iPhone overseas to bring home – a common legal practice as long as the phone has not been resold – he has come under fire from Indonesian laws before.

“I bought an iPhone 11 in Singapore in 2019 because it was much cheaper than in Indonesia, actually about $250 cheaper. A round trip ticket to Singapore at that time was only $120. “You could fly to Singapore and back to Indonesia on the same day, so it's very expensive,” he said.

Winston used the phone without problems for a year, until the Indonesian government in 2022 issued a law 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 dealer in Medan because I thought there was a problem with the phone, but they just said, 'There is nothing we can do or suggest,'” he said.

Stranded with an unusable iPhone, Winston, who had no problems with his current iPhone 15, which he bought through a licensed dealer, sold the device at a loss at a second-hand store during a 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 island was home to 190 million smartphone users by 2022, according to market research firm Newzoo.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry, the country imported about 22,000 Google Pixel phones and 9,000 iPhone 16s 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 the high price of the iPhone 16 for many Indonesians may explain why there has not been much opposition to the ban.

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

“It would be better if the iPhone 16 is not sold in Indonesia because there are many enthusiasts here.”

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

“As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with an international trading industry, it is good to protect our industries, but we also need to have checks and balances in place,” Mahalli told Al Jazeera.

“One of the future problems 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 in the international market.”

Mahalli said it is the government's duty to find ways to reduce the damage to the country's weaker industries rather than a complete ban on foreign products.

“There is no need to completely ban foreign trade, as the Indonesian market is large enough to accommodate foreign products due to the population of more than 270 million people,” he said.

“We have to see if the local product can meet the needs of consumers.”

Rio Priambodo, head of the legal and complaints department at the non-profit organization Indonesia Consumers Organization, said consumers should think twice about buying the latest iPhone model, especially from illegal sellers in the country.

“The consumer association recommends that consumers should not try to buy the iPhone 16 in any way if it is banned by the government,” Priambodo told Al Jazeera.

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

In an effort to end the chaos, Apple has promised to significantly increase its investment in the country to lift the ban.

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

Despite this request, the Ministry of Industry appeared unmoved.

“From the government's point of view, we want this investment to be big,” said Febri Hendri Antoni Arif spokesman at the time.

On November 25, Jakarta officially rejected the request, with Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita saying it did not meet Indonesia's “just principles”.

He said Apple has invested heavily in neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, including $15bn in manufacturing facilities at the end.

“Based on the technical evaluation, the investment value has not reached the value we consider to be right,” he said.

“We want Apple to come back and do business here, but we need the right decision.”

For now, Apple fans like Winston are faced with the prospect of doing without the latest models for the foreseeable future.

“I understand that the ban is due to politics 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.