Indonesia has banned gross sales of Google Pixel smartphones for failing to satisfy home content material necessities, days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16 in Southeast Asia’s largest telephone market.
The Indonesian Ministry of Industry stated Google’s telephones can’t be traded till they adjust to guidelines requiring 40% native content material in smartphones bought in Indonesia.
Google should acquire native content material certification earlier than resuming gross sales, Industry Ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief instructed native reporters. “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,” Hendri was quoted as saying.
The ban follows Indonesia’s block on iPhone 16 gross sales final week after Apple failed to satisfy a $95 million funding dedication. Major smartphone makers should manufacture units, develop firmware, or put money into native innovation to satisfy Indonesia’s content material guidelines.
The Indonesian rule requires tech firms to supply 40% of handset and pill elements domestically, a requirement that may be met by way of native manufacturing, firmware improvement or direct funding in innovation tasks.
Companies can fulfill the necessities by way of totally different routes. Samsung and Xiaomi, as an illustration, have established manufacturing amenities, whereas Apple has opted to open developer academies.
The regulation, enforced by way of a certification system referred to as “local content level,” types a part of Indonesia’s broader industrial coverage to leverage its giant client marketplace for home financial improvement. Companies failing to satisfy these thresholds face gross sales restrictions.
Neither Google nor Apple rank amongst Indonesia’s high 5 smartphone manufacturers, based on advertising and marketing analysis agency Counterpoint.
