最新iPhone大提問, 能否掀起神祕蓋頭
What can be said about Apple Inc.'s upcoming iPhones?
對蘋果(Apple Inc.)即將問世的新iPhone有什麼可以說說的？What we do know is that the company's suppliers in Asia are working simultaneously on two models. One is a higher-end design with a metal shell, the other a lower-performance one with non-metal shells in multiple colors, which sounds reminiscent of the route it went with iPods.
我們確實知道的是，蘋果在亞洲的供應商正在同時開發兩種款型的iPhone手機。其中一款較爲高端，有金屬外殼；而另外一款功能較爲簡單的手機則沒有金屬外殼，不過這款手機有多種顏色可供選擇。這種高低搭配使人不禁回想起蘋果當年在iPod上用過的策略。Launch dates haven't been finalized, but The Wall Street Journal reports it could be possibly summer for the upmarket phone, as people familiar with the situation say production will begin this quarter. The lower-cost one is being developed simultaneously but will likely come to the market later.
雖然新款iPhone的推出時間尚未最終確定，但據《華爾街日報》報道，其中的那款高檔手機可能在今年夏天面市，因爲據知情人士說，這款手機的生產工作將於本季度開始。而那款成本較低的手機也正在開發之中，但面市的時間預計會晚一些。
Rumors of a larger-sized iPhone seem unfounded for now, despite ripples that Apple might cave into the trend for big screens (and despite fears that the phones may stretch forever more .) This is not just because of Apple's philosophy that a smartphone should be small enough to control with one hand, but due to economics, too. One person with direct knowledge of the projects explains that the company gains advantages of scale by sticking with the 4-inch screen size of the current iteration, so it has no plans to change phone dimensions this year.
儘管據傳蘋果可能會屈從於大屏幕手機受到消費者歡迎的市場潮流(雖然已經有人擔心手機的屏幕可能會變得越來越大)，但到目前爲止，有關蘋果將推出屏幕較大iPhone的傳言似乎還無法得到證實。蘋果不推出大屏幕手機不僅是因爲它一向秉承智能手機應該小到單手能自如操控的理念，還有經濟方面的考慮。一位直接瞭解iPhone項目的人士解釋說，蘋果堅持讓其手機屏幕保持目前這種4英寸大小獲得了規模效益，所以它今年沒有改變手機尺寸的計劃。One question that remains is how Apple will present the lower-cost iPhone to consumers. While surely aimed at attracting a non-elite clientele, it's unclear whether this is a play to attract straying users in its traditional turf, or to target the vast market of first-time smartphone users in developing economies. Either way, Apple has a balancing act of making its products more affordable, while keeping that exclusive luster that draws consumers to the brand in the first place.
一個依然沒有答案的問題是，蘋果將如何向消費者介紹那款成本較低的新iPhone。雖然這款手機肯定旨在吸引那些非精英階層消費者，但人們不清楚的是，蘋果推出這種新手機究竟是要吸引其傳統客戶羣裏那些喜歡不斷更新手機的人，還是將目標對準了發展中國家首次購買智能手機的龐大人羣。無論怎樣，蘋果都需要在以下兩個方面之間掌握好平衡：它一方面要讓消費者能負擔得起自己的產品，另一方面又要保持住蘋果產品的獨特光彩，畢竟消費者首先正是因爲這種光彩才喜歡上蘋果品牌的。
