Medan, Indonesia – Winston, a medical doctor who lives and works in the capital city of North Sumatra Province, is a self-proclaimed Apple fan.
Currently the proud owner of an iPhone 15, Winson had been looking forward to upgrading to the latest model, the iPhone 16, which was released in September.
Winston, however, has dropped the idea since the Indonesian government banned the sale of the iPhone 16 and the Google Pixel at the end of October, citing the tech giants' failure to comply with the country's Tingkat Komponen Dalam policy. Negeri, or TKDN, which requires phones to source at least 40 percent of their components locally.
“The Indonesian rules regarding iPhones hit me once, and that was enough,” Winston, who is like many Indonesians with one name, told Al Jazeera.
While Winston could buy an iPhone abroad to bring home – a relatively common practice that is legal as long as the phone is not resold – he has been burned by Indonesian regulations in the past.
“I bought the iPhone 11 in Singapore back in 2019 because it was much cheaper than in Indonesia, about $250 cheaper in fact. 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 was more cost effective,” he said.
Winston used the phone without problems for about a year, until the Indonesian government in 2022 issued a regulation mandating that all phones be registered.
Despite registering his phone as required, the device suddenly lost signal one day and would not reconnect to the network, even with another 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 said, 'There's nothing we can do or recommend,'” he said.
Frustrated with an unusable iPhone, Winston, who had no problems with his current iPhone 15, which he bought through an authorized dealer, sold the device at a loss at a second-hand store during a visit to Singapore after that.
Indonesia, the fourth most populous country with approximately 280 million people, is one of the largest smartphone markets in the world.
The archipelago was home to around 190 million smartphone users in 2022, according to market research firm Newzoo.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry, the country imported around 22,000 Google Pixel phones and 9,000 iPhone 16s in 2024, before authorities announced the ban.
Smartphone shipments to 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 that the too expensive price of the iPhone 16 for many Indians could explain why there was not more voice against the ban.
“It's a real shame, because iPhones are very popular and have a high customer satisfaction rating 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 Chamber of Commerce in North Sumatra, said that although Indonesia's TKDN policy aims to support local business, it may have unintended consequences.
“As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a trade business that operates between countries, it is fine to protect our businesses, but we also need to have checks and balances,” Mahalli told Al Jazeera.
“Maybe one of the issues in the future is that if Indonesia stops the sale of some products, other countries may do the same and not accept the sale of Indonesian products on the international market. more national.”
Mahalli said it was the government's job to find ways to reduce harm to local businesses that is less severe than a complete ban on foreign products.
“We don't need to ban foreign sales completely, because the Indonesian market is big enough to absorb foreign goods because of its large population of more than 270 million people,” he said.
“We have to see if local production can keep up with consumer demand.”
Rio Priambodo, head of the legal and complaints department at the non-profit Consumer Organization of Indonesia, said consumers should think twice about buying the latest iPhone model, especially through fake sellers. legal in the country.
“The Consumer Group recommends that consumers simply do not try to buy the iPhone 16 in any way if it is banned by the government,” Priambodo told Al Jazeera.
“If a purchase is made illegally, this removes the aspect of consumer protection that every customer should have.”
In an attempt to break the ban, Apple has promised to significantly increase its investment in the country in exchange for lifting the ban.
In November, the California-based tech giant offered to invest $100m in the country over two years, a 10-fold increase from an earlier pledge to pour $10m into building an accessories and parts factory in Bandung, West Java.
Despite the offer, the Ministry of Industry seemed unmoved.
“From the government's point of view, of course, we want this investment to be bigger,” Febri Hendri spokesman Antoni Arif said at the time.
On November 25, Jakarta formally rejected the offer, with Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita saying it did not meet Indonesia's “fairness principles”.
He said Apple had invested larger amounts in neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, including $15bn for manufacturing facilities in the latter.
“According to the technical assessment, the investment amount did not meet the figure we consider fair,” he said.
“We want Apple to come back to do business here, but we need a fair solution.”
In the meantime, Apple fans like Winston plan to do 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.
