iPhone 16 & iPhone 16 Plus — still banned in Indonesia
Sources in Indonesia say the government is about to settle its dispute with Apple, and could lift its iPhone 16 sales ban within the week.
The ban began in October 2024, just weeks after the launch of the iPhone 16 range, and the dispute was over how much Apple invests in Indonesia.
Now according to Bloomberg, sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter have said that Indonesia’s Ministry for Industry is set to sign a memorandum of agreement with Apple shortly. The Ministry is said to then intend to issue Apple with a permit allowing the iPhone 16 to be sold as soon as possible.
The terms of the agreement are not fully known, but the sources said that Apple does not have immediate plans to start making iPhones in Indonesia. That goes against both what the country appears to have pressed for, and what Apple was recently reported to be considering.
Based on this, it looks as if Apple has pushed back against the country, following Indonesia’s escalating demands. After exacting a promise from Tim Cook that Apple would consider local manufacturing, Indonesia issued the iPhone 16 ban because Apple had not fulfilled its previous commitments.
Apple had seemingly been exempted from the country’s import quota rules by promising to invest around $110 million in development and training — but then didn’t.
As well as falling short by around $15 million, Apple then fell foul of those local content rules. Sources vary, but Indonesia requires between 35% and 40% of smartphone components must be sourced locally.
That’s a high bar for any manufacturer, although Huawei is in the process of meeting it.
Apple initially offered Indonesia a quite miserly $10 million more investment, which would not have even met its prior commitment. That was rejected, so Apple offered $100 million, and then $1 billion — which Indonesia accepted, even as it said it was not enough.
The rationale for saying the billion dollar investment was insufficient was that would have seen Apple making AirTags in Indonesia rather than iPhone components.
Consequently, Indonesia appeared to be sticking firm to its local quota content laws, and it appeared to be pressing Apple for more investment.
According to this latest report, the $1 billion AirTag facility will go ahead, and Apple will also commit to research and development centers. Plus there will be an increase in its training program, though reportedly as a new investment rather than an expansion of its existing developer centers.
