After iPhone 16 ban, Indonesia now halts sale of Google Pixel phones

By Claire Jiao and Eko Listiyorini

 

Indonesia has prohibited the sale of the Pixel phones, saying Alphabet Inc.’s Google has failed to meet domestic content requirements.

 

It’s illegal to trade Google Pixel Phones in Indonesia, even though an estimated 22,000 units have already entered the country this year through personal shipments or carry-on items, Ministry of Industry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief said in a Thursday press briefing.

 

That follows the government’s earlier move to block the sale of iPhone 16 devices in Southeast Asia’s largest economy after Apple Inc. fell short of its investment commitments. The Cupertino, California-based company has sent a letter seeking a meeting with Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita to discuss the ban, though no date has been set, Arief said.

 

“The local content rule and related policies are made for fairness for all investors that invest in Indonesia, and for creating added value and deepening the industry structure here,” he said.

 

The government has threatened to take action against online and physical shops caught selling the phones, and deactivate their IMEI identifying numbers so the devices can’t be registered with local telecommunications providers. Phones purchased abroad are allowed for personal use provided the owner declares it upon entry — and pays hefty fees.

 

The move signals that Indonesia is willing to double-down on restrictive policies for foreign players as a means to secure greater investment. Smartphone and tablet makers are required to meet domestic content requirements as high as 40 per cent depending on the scale of their operations in the country. Companies can comply by manufacturing their devices, developing firmware, or investing in innovation in Indonesia.

 

Apple has taken the route of putting up developer academies in the country, though its investment stood at just 1.5 trillion rupiah ($95 million), below its 1.7 trillion rupiah pledge, the industry ministry said. Rival phonemakers like Samsung Electronics Co. and Xiaomi Corp. have established local factories.

 

The $1-trillion Indonesian economy is a potential growth market with over 350 million active mobile phones — more than the nation’s 270 million population, according to government data. Both Google and Apple did not make it into the country’s top five smartphone brands last year.