Picture of Google Pixel 9 Pro. Indonesia bans sales of Google phones, days after blocking the marketing and sale of Apple's iPhone 16. Picture: X / @GooglePixel9Pro
The sale of the Google Pixel phones has been banned in Indonesia for the same reason the iPhone 16 was, which is the failure to adhere to the country’s smartphone manufacturing regulations.
The Indonesian government requires all smartphones sold inside Indonesia to have 40% of their parts manufactured domestically. Alternatively, the smartphone manufacturers need to make significant investments, equivalent to the 40% rule, in the local economy.
"We are pushing these rules so that there's fairness for all investors in Indonesia," said Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, Industry ministry spokesperson.
Unlike rival smartphone manufacturers Samsung and Xiaomi, Google doesn't have any manufacturing facilities in the South-east Asian nation.
"Google's products have not adhered to the scheme we set, so they can't be sold here," Arief added.
Google and Apple are not among the top smartphone makers in Indonesia.
According to research by marketing research firm, Counterpoint, Indonesia’s smartphone market shipment share in the second quarter of the year was dominated by China’s Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo, which has the largest market share of around 17%, followed by South Korea’s Samsung, at 16.4%.
In contrasting news, however, Iran has announced the lift of its import and sales ban on newer iPhone models, which was imposed in 2023.
Telecommunications Minister Satar Hashemi announced the policy change on X (formerly, Twitter), stating that the registration issue for new iPhones has been resolved with the support of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The announcement means Iran will now allow the import and sale of iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 devices in the country.
Hashemi also added that details regarding the import and regulation processes on these Apple devices, will be announced soon.
IOL