Indonesia, Apple reach agreement to end iPhone 16 sales ban

Apple will be able to resume its iPhone 16 smartphone sales in Indonesia after the two sides came to an agreement, the Industry Ministry said during a press conference Wednesday, per a Reuters report.

The ban was lifted five months after Indonesia blocked the U.S. iPhone maker from selling its iPhone 16 phones in Indonesia for violating the country’s regulation mandating that domestically sold smartphones and tablets must contain at least 40% locally produced components.

In December, Apple committed to investing $1 billion in its initial factory in Indonesia. The facility will manufacture components for smartphones and other Apple devices. Indonesia declined Apple’s $100 million investment proposal in November due to insufficient funding for the country to authorize the sale of the company’s smartphones.

Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Indonesia’s Industry Minister, stated that the U.S. tech giant is in the process of obtaining a local content certificate to market its devices in the country.

Apple did not immediately respond to a TechCrunch request for comment.

Last year, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, visited Indonesia and said that the company would explore the possibility of manufacturing in the country.

In its home country, Apple announced this week that it would invest $500 billion over the next four years in high-end manufacturing, engineering, and education, with a specific focus on artificial intelligence and chip making for AI workloads.

In recent years, Apple has broadened its supply chains to reduce its reliance on China. The iPhone 16 is currently being manufactured in Brazil, India, and China, while various AirPods models are assembled in Vietnam.

Jakarta has prohibited the sale of Google Pixel phones from Alphabet due to a similar issue — Google wasn’t using enough local components in October. According to a report, the top smartphone brands in Indonesia during the third quarter of 2024 are Oppo, Xiaomi, Transsion, Samsung, and Vivo.