Indonesian-Made Smartphones Quietly Sold Overseas, Few Know

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Indonesia apparently already has the manufacturing capability to produce mobile phones. Not many know that domestically produced phones have already been marketed overseas, even entering the monitoring radar of the United States.

The Indonesian-made handset comes via Unplugged, a startup based in Limassol, Cyprus. Unplugged entrusted the manufacturing process of the device, named the ‘UP Phone’, to Indonesia.

Unlike global brands that compete on camera mechanics or artificial intelligence, the UP Phone was born with a focus on high-level privacy and security as its main selling point.

In terms of design, the UP Phone looks familiar at a glance with a ‘boba’ style rear camera panel similar to the iPhone, complete with curved sides and thin screen bezels. However, the phone does not adopt the Dynamic Island feature found on Apple’s premium handsets.

Under the hood, Unplugged boldly claims that the UP Phone is far more secure than market giants like the iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25. According to data from its official website, the UP Phone is claimed to be free of third-party DNS requests. For comparison, Unplugged notes that the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S25 have 3,181 and 1,368 third-party DNS requests respectively, which could potentially compromise user privacy.

In terms of specifications, the UP Phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display. The device is paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, expandable up to 1TB. The photography department is supported by a 108MP main camera, a 5MP macro lens, and an 8MP wide-angle lens, along with a 32MP front camera. To support mobility, a 4,300 mAh battery with 33W fast charging is embedded. The phone also supports 5G networks and eSIM features.

So far, the UP Phone has reportedly successfully penetrated commercial markets in North American countries, such as the US and Canada. Information regarding the involvement of an Indonesian manufacturer in the assembly of the UP Phone was first revealed by a Reuters report, citing a statement from Unplugged CEO Joe Well.

However, the existence of this Indonesian-assembled phone appears to be undergoing a business strategy adjustment by Unplugged. Recent reports indicate that Unplugged plans to move its production base from Indonesia to Nevada, USA. This step is being taken to avoid friction with the US government. US President Donald Trump has been continuously pressuring technology manufacturers to assemble their devices domestically in the US, supported by threats of high tariffs for products manufactured abroad but sold in the US market.

Although the relocation to Nevada is certain to increase labour costs, Unplugged is committed to keeping its product selling price competitive. When produced in Indonesia, the UP Phone was priced at US$989, or approximately Rp17 million. In the future, Unplugged is targeting to keep the selling price of the Nevada-assembled version below the psychological level of US$1,000.

‘The first step taken is assembly, gradually moving to component procurement,’ said Joe Well as quoted by Reuters. To work around the expensive supply chain in the US, which is currently still centred in Asia, Unplugged will not follow the annual cycle of new phone releases. The company will focus on smaller but stable assembly volumes to maintain budget efficiency.