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Indonesia Bans Sales of Google Phones Days After Blocking Apple's iPhone 16

Indonesia Bans Sales of Google Phones Days After Blocking Apple's iPhone 16

Google says its Pixel phones were currently not officially distributed in Indonesia.

By Reuters | Updated: 1 November 2024 16:37 IST

Indonesia Bans Sales of Google Phones Days After Blocking Apple's iPhone 16

Pixel 9 Pro (pictured) is one of the company's latest smartphones, announced earlier this year

Highlights

Indonesia has banned the sale of Google Pixel phones
The country recently blocked the sale of Apple's iPhone 16 series
Google does not officially distribute its Pixel phones in Indonesia

Indonesia said it has banned sales of smartphones made by Alphabet's Google due to rules requiring the use of locally manufactured components, days after blocking sales of tech giant Apple's iPhone 16 for the same reason.

Indonesia blocked sales of Google Pixel phones because the company has not met the rules which necessitate certain smartphones sold domestically to contain at least 40% of parts manufactured locally.

"We are pushing these rules so that there's fairness for all investors in Indonesia," Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, industry ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday. "Google's products have not adhered to the scheme we set, so they can't be sold here."

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Google said its Pixel phones were currently not officially distributed in Indonesia.

Febri said consumers can buy Google Pixel phones overseas, so long as they pay the necessary taxes, adding the country would consider deactivating the phones that are illicitly sold.

The block comes a week after Indonesia said it had blocked the sales of iPhone 16 domestically, also for not meeting local content rules.

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Companies usually increase the use of domestic components to meet such rules through partnerships with local suppliers or by sourcing parts domestically.

Google and Apple are not among the top smartphone makers in Indonesia. The top two smartphone makers in the first quarter of 2024 were Chinese firm OPPO and South Korean firm Samsung, research firm IDC said in May.

Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.

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Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies think tank, said the move was "pseudo" protectionism that hurts consumers and impacts investor confidence.

"This creates a negative sentiment for investors looking to enter Indonesia," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Google Pixel 9

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Flagship build and design
Excellent display
Great cameras
Good battery life
AI features are fun

Bad
Processor is still not great
Heats up
No longer compact

Read detailed Google Pixel 9 review

Display 6.30-inch

Front Camera 10.5-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 4700mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 1080x2424 pixels

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Google Pixel 9 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.30-inch

Front Camera 42-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 48-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 16GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 4700mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 1280x2856 pixels

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Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Premium design
Bright display
Impressive AI features
Quality rear cameras
Long-term software commitment
Video Boost works brilliantly

Bad
Portrait mode needs work
Average battery life
45W charger not available in India

Read detailed Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review

Display 6.80-inch

Front Camera 42-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 48-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 16GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB

Battery Capacity 5060mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 1344x2992 pixels

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Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Slim and premium IPX8-rated design
Bloatware-free software
7 years of software and security updates
Tons of AI features to fiddle with
Secure face unlock

Bad
A bit heavy even for a foldable
UI stutters randomly
Average cameras
Only 256GB storage variant

Read detailed Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review

Display (Primary) 8.00-inch

Processor Google Tensor G4

Front Camera 10-megapixel + 10-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 10.5-megapixel + 10.8-megapixel

RAM 16GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 4650mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 2152x2076 pixels

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iPhone 16

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A18

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

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