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Apple Close to Making a Deal to Lift Indonesian iPhone 16 Ban

Apple Close to Making a Deal to Lift Indonesian iPhone 16 Ban

Apple is close to making a deal on an investment plan with the Indonesian government that would put an end to the current iPhone 16 sales ban in the country, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Indonesia first banned sales of Apple’s latest smartphone back in October, after the government determined that Apple had not met the country’s 40% domestic content requirement for smartphones and tablets. The government also claimed Apple fell short of a previous promise to invest 1.7 trillion rupiah through developer academies, instead investing only 1.5 trillion rupiah.

Apple raised its proposal from a initial offer of $10 million to $100 million in November, which included plans for opening research and development facilities and developer academies in Bali and Jakarta over a two-year period. Apple also said it plans to manufacture AirPods Max ear cup mesh components in Bandung starting July 2025.

Apple has since offered a $1 billion investment in the country that includes building an AirTag factory.

“I strongly believe it will resolve very, very soon,” the country’s investment minister Rosan Roeslani said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “Hopefully within one or two weeks this issue can be resolved.”

“The way they calculate it is different I think,” he said, referring to the local content requirement. “Now they find a solution on that one, so hopefully they accept the discrepancies so we can have the iPhone 16 sold in Indonesia.”

Indonesia represents a significant piece of Apple’s smartphone market, as the country has a population of 280 million, who own around 354 million active mobile phones.