“Technology giant Apple Inc.’s first Indonesian research and development (R&D) center is expected to begin operating in the second quarter in Tangerang, Banten,” The Jakarta Post reports. “Industry Ministry expert staff member Sanny Iskandar said the United States firm was looking to rent an office as its first R&D center at Green Office Park in BSD City, Tangerang. ‘The center will develop educational programs for 300 to 400 local students,’ Sanny said after meeting with Apple’s representatives in Jakarta on Thursday.”
The Jakarta Post reports, “The center is scheduled to commence operations in the second quarter and Apple will carry on with the second center in Java and the third center outside Java.”
“On Friday, the tech powerhouse will officially launch its latest series of smartphones, iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in Indonesia,” The Jakarta Post reports. “The company was not able to sell several models of its iPhone 6 series after the government issued a regulation, which required phone makers to meet a certain amount of local content, including through the establishment of R&D centers. Apple finally agreed to comply with the regulation early this year by committing to building the centers and pledging to pour US$44 million into the R&D in Indonesia until 2018.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Great to see iPhone 7 and 7 Plus officially arrive in Indonesia!
All right, more jobs for the people of the world. Way to go Apple.
So will folks in the Indonesian R&D center be legally permitted to communicate or otherwise work with the much larger Apple R&D center in Israel? (Indonesia still doesn’t recognize Israel.)
I keep wondering what these “R&D” centers in the midst of the third world and *cough* China are supposed to research and develop. I don’t like being insulting, but where is the technological creativity, invention and innovation? In China? 😆 In Indonesia? 😆
I do so hope these aren’t just babysitting projects to make the PTB (powers that be) in those countries all happy, shiny, smiley, euphoric. 😛