Apple looks to affluent clientele to weather electronics slump

Apple’s projections, a closely guarded secret, suggest it is confident about weathering a slump in spending on smartphones and other devices.

Apple has asked suppliers to build at least as many of its next-generation iPhones this year as in 2021, counting on an affluent clientele and dwindling competition to weather a global electronics downturn.

The tech giant is telling its assemblers to make 90m of its newest devices, on par with last year, despite deteriorating projections for the smartphone market, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The iPhone maker still expects to assemble roughly 220m iPhones in total for 2022, also about level with last year, according to one of the people.