Medan, Indonesia – Winston, a 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, Winson was looking forward to upgrading to the latest model, the iPhone 16, which was launched in September.
Winston, however, has reluctantly given up on the idea since 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 to source at least 40 percent of its parts locally.
“Indonesia’s iPhone regulations hit me once, and once was enough,” Winston, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told Al Jazeera.
Although Winston could have bought an iPhone overseas to bring it home – a relatively common practice that is legal as long as the phone is not resold – he was already exposed to Indonesian regulations.
“I bought an iPhone 11 in Singapore back in 2019 because it was much cheaper than in Indonesia, about $250 cheaper in fact. A return ticket to Singapore at the time was only $120. You could fly to Singapore and back to Indonesia on the same day, so it was more cost effective,” he said.
Winston used the phone without problems for about a year, until the Indonesian government issued a regulation in 2022 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 an authorized Apple reseller in Medan because I thought there was a problem with the phone, but they just said, ‘There’s nothing we can do or suggest,'” he said.
Burdened with an unusable iPhone, Winston, who had no problems with his current iPhone 15, which he bought through a licensed reseller, sold the device at a loss at a second-hand shop during his next visit to Singapore.
Indonesia, the fourth most populous country with about 280 million people, is one of the world’s largest smartphone markets.
The archipelago was home to around 190 million smartphone users in 2022, according to market research firm Newzoo.
According to the Ministry of Industry, the country imported about 22,000 Google Pixel phones and 9,000 iPhone 16s in 2024 before authorities announced the bans.
Smartphone shipments to Indonesia were dominated by devices from Chinese companies Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo and South Korean Samsung.
Abdul Soleh, a lawyer in Medan, said the prohibitive price of the iPhone 16 for many Indonesians may explain why there has not been more vocal opposition to the ban.
“It’s a real shame, because iPhones are very popular and have a high user satisfaction rate in Indonesia,” Soleh told Al Jazeera.
“It would be better if the iPhone 16 could be sold in Indonesia because there are a lot of enthusiasts here.”
Khairul Mahalli, head of the North Sumatra Chamber of Commerce, said that while Indonesia’s TKDN policy is aimed at supporting local industry, it could have unintended consequences.
“As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a trading industry that operates between countries, it is fine to protect our industries, but we also have to have checks and balances,” Mahalli told Al Jazeera.
“One of the questions for the future 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 the government’s job is to find ways to reduce damage to local industries that are less drastic than outright bans on foreign products.
“We do not need to completely ban foreign sales, as the Indonesian market is large enough to receive foreign products due to its large population of over 270 million people,” he said.
“We need to see if local production can keep up with consumer demand.”
Rio Priambodo, head of legal and complaints at a non-profit Indonesian consumer organization, said consumers should think twice about buying the latest iPhone model, especially through illegal resellers in the country.
“The consumer association recommends that consumers do not just try to buy the iPhone 16 in any way possible if it has been banned by the government,” Priambodo told Al Jazeera.
“If the purchase is made illegally, it will eliminate a dimension of consumer protection that all buyers should have.”
In an attempt to break the impasse, Apple has promised to dramatically increase its investment in the country in exchange for lifting the ban.
In November, the California-based tech giant offered to invest $100 million in the country over two years, 10 times more than an earlier pledge to invest $10 million to build an accessories and components factory in Bandung, West Java.
Despite the offer, the Ministry of Industry did not budge.
“From the government’s perspective, of course, we want this investment to be bigger,” Febri Hendri spokesman Antoni Arif said at the time.
On 25 November, Jakarta officially rejected the offer, with Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita saying it did not meet Indonesia’s “principles of fairness”.
He said Apple has invested significant amounts in neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, including $15 billion for manufacturing facilities in the latter.
“Based on the technocratic assessment, the amount of investment did not reach the figure we consider fair,” he said.
“We want Apple to come back to do business here, but we need a fair solution.”
Meanwhile, Apple fans like Winston face the possibility of doing without the latest models for the foreseeable future.
“I understand that the ban is for political reasons because Apple does not want to invest in Indonesia and I stand by my government. But I will never buy an iPhone abroad again,” he said.
