Indonesia, which banned the sales of iPhone 16 last week after Apple failed to reach the desired investment targets across the country, today banned the sale of Google Pixel phones.

Google Pixel and iPhone 16 series banned as investment targets not reached!

Located in Southeast Asia and the most populous country in the world after China, India and the United States, 68% of Indonesia is expected to use smartphones according to Statistia 2022 data. With nearly 100 million people under the age of 30, the country wants 40% of the parts of all smartphones used by its citizens to be produced within the country.

According to Indonesian government rules, smartphone manufacturers must invest in the country’s local economy in order to continue selling in the country. In addition to rival smartphone makers Samsung and Xiaomi, Alphabet-owned Google Pixel does not have a production facility in Indonesia. According to reports, Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Industry, said that they are trying to ensure justice for all investors in Indonesia and that Google’s products cannot be sold here because they do not fit into the scheme we have set.

Indonesian people will be able to buy the iPhone 16 series and Google Pixel phones, which are not currently sold in the country, from outside the country, but they will be obliged to pay a fee similar to the IMEI registration fee in Turkey to the Indonesian government. If citizens bring the phones into the country unofficially and try to use them without paying the state, the state will be able to disable the phones. People have long preferred eastern brands instead of western brands such as Google and Apple. At the domestic rate, Oppo is in the first position with 17% of the Indonesian market share, while South Korean manufacturer Samsung is close behind with 16.4%.

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