Indonesia: Will the iPhone 16 ban end?
Since last year, Apple has not been allowed to sell its iPhone 16 in one of the most important Asian markets. Now there is hope for a quick solution.
Indonesian capital Jakarta: Apple's market is of no small importance.
(Image: leolintang / Shutterstock)
The seemingly never-ending dispute over the market launch of the iPhone 16 in Indonesia is apparently nearing a solution: the Indonesian government sent out signals to this effect on Wednesday. The Minister for Investment, Rosan Roeslani, said in an interview with the stock exchange channel Bloomberg that he “strongly believes that [the dispute] will end very, very soon”. He gave the next one to two weeks as the time horizon.
Trouble with the industry minister
However, Roeslani was not the political official at the center of the affair. Instead, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stood out with ever new demands. Apple's problem in the world's fourth-largest country began back in October. At that time, the government accused the iPhone company of having underinvested a good 13.5 million euros that the company had promised.
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The country reacted harshly and refused to issue local IMEIs for the iPhone 16 (all four models) released in September. In practice, this meant that the devices could not be used there, making sales pointless. Indonesia is very important for Apple, not only because of its size, but also because the very young population is considered to be tech-savvy.
Change in the basis of calculation
Since the beginning of the conflict, Apple has been trying to defuse the situation, gradually increasing the investment commitment offered and now also wants to produce AirTags and other hardware in Indonesia. But even this was not enough for Kartasasmita, who demanded that Indonesia become part of the iPhone supply chain before the devices are approved. In December, a direct investment of one billion US dollars was on the table, but this was not immediately accepted. Communication was extremely bumpy: while the president and some ministers gave Apple hope, the industry minister always took a different view.
Apparently, the government has now agreed on a common line. Apple's latest investment package should be able to end the iPhone 16 ban in Southeast Asia's largest country. However, it remains unclear how Kartasasmita's last requirement, which stipulates that at least parts of the iPhone should be produced in Indonesia, is to be met. According to Investment Minister Roeslani, it is now all about the calculation. Apple is now doing it “differently” and has now found “a solution”. He did not say exactly what this solution looks like.
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