San Francisco, Jul 30 (IANS): Tech giant Apple said that the global chip shortage could affect iPhone production and the company also forecasted slowing revenue growth.

Apple executives said that the revenue for the current fiscal fourth quarter will grow by double-digits but be below the 36.4 per cent growth rate in the just-ended third quarter, GizmoChina reported on Friday.

They also added that while the impact of the chip shortage was less severe than feared in the third quarter, it will get worse in the fourth, extending to iPhone production.

CEO Tim Cook said that chips affected by the shortages are made using older technology but those are still vital as supporting parts for making iPhones.

Analysts believed that Apple could be stockpiling chips for its next-generation iPhone models, the report said.

According to the report, there are several reasons behind the global shortage of chips, including factory closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and increased demand for consumer electronics products during the lockdown and work from home setups.

Reports indicate that many players in the mobile phone industry are struggling to procure a variety of semiconductors, including the struggle for sourcing power-management chips, display drivers, application processors, in addition to 4G and 5G chipsets.

Recently, the company announced that the iPhone revenue set a June quarter record of $39.6 billion, growing 50 per cent year-over-year and exceeding its own expectations.

The iPhone 12 family continued to be in very high demand across the world including in India.