Apple's $1 Billion Indonesia Investment Fails To Unlock iPhone 16 Sales Ban
- Reference: 0175852319
- News link: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/01/08/1829223/apples-1-billion-indonesia-investment-fails-to-unlock-iphone-16-sales-ban
- Source link:
[1] https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/10/28/1254235/apple-banned-from-selling-iphone-16-in-indonesia
[2] https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-still-barred-selling-iphone-16-indonesia-despite-investment-deal-minister-2025-01-08/
Does any phone meet this criteria? (Score:4, Interesting)
They want 35% of the phone to be produced locally. Does any modern phone meet this criteria?
Re:Does any phone meet this criteria? (Score:4, Interesting)
The most popular brand there is Oppo, which juuuust meets the requirement. So, I'm going to take a wild guess that factored into where they set the threshold.
[1]https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-... [scmp.com]
[1] https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3287743/chinese-smartphone-maker-oppo-boost-indonesian-manufacturing-bet-southeast-asia
Re: (Score:2)
With falsified records, anything is possible.
Re: (Score:2)
Manufacturers have had almost ten years to comply, all of the top manufacturers (Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo) have compliant devices with Indonesia's TKDN rules. It's really fine if Apple doesn't want to sell devices there, plenty of other choices.
"Malicious compliance" (Score:1)
Sell a special "iPhone 16-Indonesia" that comes with a locally-produced expensive part - maybe a bejewelled backside - and add that to the cost of the phone.
Wait, did they mean 35% by mass? OK, add a locally-produced steel brick welded to the back.
There are ways to get around the rules.
Re: (Score:2)
> Sell a special "iPhone 16-Indonesia" that comes with a locally-produced expensive part - maybe a bejewelled backside - and add that to the cost of the phone.
> Wait, did they mean 35% by mass? OK, add a locally-produced steel brick welded to the back.
> There are ways to get around the rules.
The way I see it, Apple already tried a reasonable compromise involving a huge investment in manufacturing products in that country. If that's not good enough, assuming Apple can't easily switch providers for components to meet that requirement, then I would argue that the best option for them is to ignore the new requirement, not sell the iPhone 16 in Indonesia, let the black market do its job, and also move as much manufacturing as possible out of Indonesia to countries that aren't playing these games as
Re: (Score:2)
It's based on total value (so materials + labor + assembly + software), so I guess Apple could do it. Like with the EU 'malicious compliance' that apple tried to do, that would of course last very briefly as authorities will haplily change the rules if a company makes a mockery of them, and courts tend to be very harsh on companies trying to be in contempt of the laws.
It's like you claiming some random stone in your possession was worth 3 million but you lost it so you wrote it off. That might theoretically
All they need to do is wait a bit (Score:2)
until social media pics surface of rich politician's sons and daughters flaunting their shiny new iphone 16s.
In the meanwhile, they'll lose several hundred sales per month due to the ban, because most wealthy people in Indonesia probably buy their top-end electronics online or overseas anyways.
No smarthones for Indonesia (Score:2)
Given smartphone are so complicated and specialised to get that much functionality into such a small space it would basically impossible to actuality have 35% locally produced in most countries. There be a very short list of countries that could do this:
China - No problem
South Korea - No problem
US - Very likely
Japan - Possible
The ones that are claiming 35% in Indonesia are using creative definitions and accounting to give that appearance. Based on what I have heard from people doing businesses ther
Does Indonesia want smartphones? (Score:4, Informative)
Indonesia is a large country, but we have a global economy nowadays.
Requiring 35% locally-made components seems like an effective way to ban something.
Re: (Score:2)
> How big of a market can that place be?
```
Indonesia has a population of approximately 280 million people, making it the fourth most populous country in the world
```
So about the size of legal US citizens.
Maybe Trump will follow suit?
Re: (Score:2)
Expecting an investment to assuage the government is incompetence at its finest. Apple should have either gone to the WTO or the Biden Administration. If Apple cant sell phones in Indonesia, the US should ban or tariff goods and services of equal value in retaliation, to get Indonesia to back down. If your country is not competitive in making something, make something else.
Re: (Score:2)
"If your country is not competitive in making something, make something else.".....from your fingers to el Bunko's brain.
Re: (Score:3)
Although, Indonesia's GDP is a about 5% of the US, which is more indicative of how large the "market" is.
Re: (Score:2)
GDP is not indicative of a phone market. Everyone and his brother's dog has phone.
Re: (Score:2)
"Everyone" is a number of people, market size is a number of dollars.
Re: (Score:1)
> So about the size of legal US citizens.
You got a source on that?
Re: Does Indonesia want smartphones? (Score:3)
Apple would need to put a very very expensive locally printed sticker on the phones