In an X post, Apple Senior Vice President Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said the iPhone 16 is finally available in Indonesia.
The Indonesian government officially agreed to end its ban on sales of the iPhone 16 on March 7. But it has taken from then until April 11 for Apple to gain the very many country-specific certificates and regulatory permissions to actually put the phones back on sale, notes AppleInsider.
Here’s the backstory on the (now-lifted) ban: On October 8, 2024, it was reported that Indonesia was blocking the sale of the iPhone 16 line-up because Apple hadn’t compiled with local content regulations aimed at boosting the domestic industry. The tech giant had yet to fulfill its investment commitments in Indonesia and must renew its domestic component level (TKDN) license, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said at the time.
“Apple’s iPhone 16 cannot be sold in Indonesia yet because the extension of the TKDN certification is still pending, awaiting further investment realization from Apple,” Agus said. The iPhone maker has only invested 1.48 trillion rupiah (about US$95 million) in Indonesia, he said, “falling short of its total commitment” of 1.71 trillion rupiah.”
Apple offered US$1 billion and a promise to build an AirTag Batam in Indonesia. The Batam facility is expected to initially employ 1,000 workers and will eventually account for 20% of global AirTag production.
Bloomberg reported that on top of the $1 billion investment, Apple will commit to training locals in research and development on the company’s products.
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