Apple, Indonesia reach an agreement to lift iPhone 16 ban

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Indonesia and Apple Inc. have reportedly reached an agreement, with Apple ready to invest $1 billion in Indonesia, to finally lift the country’s ban on the sale of iPhone 16, ending a five-month-long negotiation, reports Bloomberg. 

Indonesia banned the iPhone 16 sales since its launch in October 2024, as Apple failed to meet its promised investments in the country and the legal requirement to use 40% locally manufactured components. 

Apple’s initial offer was to invest $100 million, which the country’s Ministry for Industry rejected.

Subsequently, the American tech giant presented a larger proposal, committing $1 billion to the country.

This was accepted by the Ministry for Industry, yet the ban persisted until last month to negotiate better terms. 

With Indonesia’s long history of backtracking, the deal could still fall apart 

Bloomberg reports that Apple’s $1 billion investment would be dedicated to training Indonesian locals in research and development. 

While there are no plans to manufacture iPhones in the country, some portion of that $1 billion could be used to fund an AirTags plant on the island of Batam.

An official announcement is yet to come, which the outlet reports could be in this week. 

Conversely, Bloomberg also notes that the agreement could still fall apart as Indonesia has a long history of backtracking its decisions. 

Even Google was banned from selling Pixel phones in the country for the same reasons. 

Nevertheless, despite declining iPhone sales in China, Apple has growth potential in Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most populous country.

Are you glad the Indonesia iPhone 16 ban is nearing its end? Will you be buying one in the country when it arrives? We want to hear your thoughts on this in the comments, below, or via our Twitter or Facebook.