Apple has finally and officially released the iPhone 16 for customers in Indonesia. Not just the recently introduced iPhone 16e, but the whole lineup that was announced last fall. New iPhones typically don’t take more than 200 days to reach other markets. However, the Indonesian government forced Apple to pay for the opportunity to bring the latest iPhone technology to customers in its country.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s marketing senior vice president, announced the launch with a post on X:
Reuters reported last month that Apple was clear to release the iPhone 16 in Indonesia starting April 11 after a making a $300M investment. 9to5Mac’s Ben Lovejoy succinctly summarized the situation that resulted in the iPhone 16 ban at the time:
Apple initially invested in Indonesia by putting $109M into a developer academy there, with a further $10M manufacturing spend. The government said that Apple had fallen short on the first promise, spending only $95M. Despite the relative small shortfall, Indonesia banned the sale and use of iPhone 16 models in the country.
[…] The company responded by offering a ten-fold increase in its manufacturing spend in the country, from $10M to $100M. The government said it expected much more, seeking another ten-fold increase, to a cool billion dollars.
Prior to the ban going into effect in late October, Apple shipped just 9,000 iPhone 16 units to Indonesia. The country has a population of more than 283 million people. Losing a full five months of potential flagship iPhone sales was tough for both Apple and customers in the country. Indonesia restricts the use of smartphones bought in other countries by its citizens through a mandatory registration program.
Meanwhile in America, the U.S. has imposed a 145% tariff on China, up from 125% when we last reported on the matter *checks calendar* yesterday. What does this mean for iPhone sales in the USA? Anyone who believes they can answer that question correctly yet has no idea.
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