You still can’t buy an iPhone 16 in Indonesia—at least, not officially. Apple’s latest smartphone has been banned in Southeast Asia’s largest economy since September, when Jakarta claimed the iPhone maker failed to meet local investment regulations.
For months, Indonesia has kept up the pressure on Apple, dismissing the company’s promises of more investment as insufficient. In January, Apple pledged to invest $1 billion to make AirTags in Indonesia, only for the country’s industry ministry to deem the smart luggage tag as a mere accessory, and not a high-end component.
Apple’s market share in Indonesia is tiny at just 6.8%. And the U.S. company’s iPhones are likely too expensive for Indonesian shoppers, who often turn to cheaper phones from Chinese brands instead.
Indonesia has a GDP per capita at $4,980, suggesting that the majority of the population may struggle to easily afford the latest iPhone. (In comparison, GDP per capita in China, one of Apple’s most important non-U.S. markets, is 2.5 times larger at $12,970)
Yet as Apple’s traditional cash cow of China begins to dry up, emerging markets like Indonesia are quickly becoming a source of growth. And that gives Jakarta a strong hand to play.
“The sheer size of the Indonesian market does make it stand out as a key market for a lot of vendors, including Apple,” Kiranjeet Kaur, associate research director for Asia-Pacific at market intelligence firm IDC, says.
Apple does not have an official store in Indonesia, instead relying on third-party partnerships. Yet analysts say that there are enough “Apple fanboys” in Southeast Asia’s largest economy to prop up demand.
Still, IDC data puts Apple in 7th place in Indonesia’s smartphone market, with just 6.8% of the market in 2024. (No. 1 is Transsion, a Chinese smartphone maker that makes budget products for emerging markets.)
But even a small percentage of Indonesia’s market translates to millions of phones. Apple shipped about 2.7 million phones in Indonesia, according to IDC; that makes the country Apple’s largest market in Southeast Asia, overtaking Thailand last year.
“There are enough people who can afford these premium products,” Kaur says. She adds that year-on-year growth in Indonesia is “staggering,” with iPhone shipments totalling just 0.3 million in 2016.
That year was also when Indonesia introduced a domestic component quota for electronic devices, including smartphones in a bid to boost investments and increase the technical expertise of the local manufacturing industry.
