Indonesia bans Google Pixel and the reason behind banning the sales of pixel smartphones is failing of company to meet domestic content requirements in Indonesia.
Indonesia has also banned and blocked Apple’s iPhone 16 in Southeast Asia’s largest phone market.
Why Indonesia bans Google Pixel smartphones?
Google has failed to meet domestic content requirements in Indonesia. It has been said by Indonesian Ministry of Industry that Google must obtain local content certification before resuming sales as “The local content rule and related policies are made for fairness for all investors that invest in Indonesia, and for creating added value and deepening the industry structure here.”
So, if Google wants to sell its smartphones in Indonesia it needs to comply with rules requiring 40% local content in smartphones sold in Indonesia.
To meet Indonesia’s content rules, Major smartphone makers need to manufacture devices, develop firmware, or invest in local innovation.
To fulfil Indonesia’s rule, it has been required that tech companies source 40% of handset and tablet components domestically, a requirement that can be met through local manufacturing, firmware development, or direct investment in innovation projects.
Companies opting different routes to satisfy requirements like- Samsung and Xiaomi opted to establish manufacturing facilities, while Apple has opted to open developer academies.
For domestic development, “Local content level” is a certification system of Indonesia’s broader industrial policy to leverage its large consumer market. And if companies fail to meet these requirements will face sales restriction.
According to the marketing research firm Counterpoint, among the list of smartphones neither Google nor Apple rank among Indonesia’s top five smartphone brands.
Let’s see whether Google meets the requirements of Indonesia’s rule or it continues to get banned as like Apple’s iPhone 16 in Southeast Asia’s largest phone market. Well, it’s totally in hand of Google to deal with this issue.
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