广州科技翻译公司：Life after the iPhone
后iPhone时代的苹果
广州科技翻译公司：蒂姆•库克出任苹果公司CEO五周年之际，“乔布斯式”产品天才的极度匮乏，正成为这家企业面临的最大难题。
All good things come to an end. Since at least 2003, when Steve Jobs unveiled the iTunes store that was to turn the iPod into a blockbuster, Apple’s new product announcements have been subjects of mass popular interest. They have provided not just a showcase for some of the most desirable consumer technology, but a glimpse of a sunny digital future that Mr Jobs’ always promised would be “magical”. It is hard to generate that kind of excitement for the expected unveiling of the latest iPhone next week. With no fundamental changes likely, attention will be on the figurative bells and whistles, like a camera with two lenses and wireless headphones.
所有的好事都会走到尽头。至少自2003年史蒂夫•乔布斯(Steve Jobs)推出让iPod成为火爆产品的iTunes商店以来，苹果公司(Apple)的新产品发布一直备受大众关注。这些新产品发布不仅展示了一些最诱人的消费者科技，也让人一窥乔布斯一直承诺将“不可思议的”光明的数字化未来。即将发布的最新款iPhone很难让人产生那种兴奋感。由于不太可能有什么根本性的改变，人们的注意力将放在一些附加组件上，比如双镜头摄像头和无线耳机。广州科技翻译公司。
The latest upgrade will once again confirm the iPhone as state of the art, no doubt. But after nine years, the wow factor is fading. When BMW adds cool new accessories to its cars, the world doesn’t stop in its tracks. With little to persuade most customers to trade in their old models for the latest handset, the iPhone is not expected to do much for sales after a dip so far this year.
iPhone的最新升级将再一次证实iPhone是最先进的产品，这一点并没有疑问。但经过了9年之后，让人惊叹的因素正在逐渐消失。宝马(BMW)在其汽车上加上炫酷的新配件并没有让世界驻足惊叹。由于新一代iPhone几乎没有什么能够说服大多数消费者把老款换成最新款，该产品预计无法对iPhone销售有多少提振作用。今年以来，iPhone的销量一直下滑。
The lull coincides with the fifth anniversary of Tim Cook’s succession to the top job, so it is tempting to see this as a seminal moment for Apple, and a sign that the company is sorely missing Mr Jobs’ product genius. Mr Cook certainly faces a unique problem. At $155bn last year, sales of the iPhone narrowly topped the entire revenues of General Motors. Can any single personal tech product ever come close to matching that?
这种疲态正值蒂姆•库克(Tim Cook)继任苹果首席执行官5周年之际，这诱使人们把这看成苹果的一个重大时刻，看成一个表明该公司极其缺乏乔布斯的产品天才的迹象。库克的确面临一个非常独特的难题。去年iPhone的销售额达到1550亿美元，略微超过通用汽车(General Motors)的总收入额。有哪一款个人科技产品曾经接近这样的水平呢？广州科技翻译公司。
But this misses the wider point. A bigger iPhone overhaul is expected next year and stronger phone replacement cycles lie ahead, even if the market is maturing. More importantly, focus on the iPhone slowdown distracts attention from the bigger opportunity before Mr Cook.
但这忽略了一个更意义深远的问题。明年iPhone预计将做出更大的变革，即使市场正走向成熟，更强的手机换代周期也即将到来。更重要的是，人们关注iPhone的销售放缓而忽视了摆在库克面前的更大机遇。
The key figure here is not the number of new gadgets shipped, but the number — and the buying power — of the people who live in Apple’s universe. This year, the company has taken to talking about the 1bn phones, tablets and Macs it has sold that are in active use. Allowing for ownership of multiple devices, this is estimated to represent around 600m to 700m people.
关键的数据不是新款设备的出货量，而是生活在苹果世界里的人们的数量和购买力。今年，苹果已经习惯于谈论该公司卖出的、用户活跃使用的10亿部手机、平板电脑和Mac电脑。如果考虑一名用户可能拥有多台设备的情况，据估计这意味着6亿到7亿用户。广州科技翻译公司。
It is one of the most enviable consumer sets in the world: a global, upmarket elite with high disposable income and strong brand loyalty. The challenges for Apple are to tie them ever more closely to its digital ecosystem — and to find more ways to monetise their attention.
这是世界上最令人艳羡的消费者群体之一：一个遍布全球各地、拥有高可支配收入和高品牌忠实度的高端精英群体。苹果面临的挑战是将他们更加紧密地和苹果的数字生态系统绑在一起，并且找到更多把这些用户的关注转化为商业收益的方法。
Mr Jobs’ last public appearance at a new product event, only months before his death, gave an indication of how things were already changing. The iCloud may not have stirred as much excitement as Apple’s hardware, but Mr Jobs described it as a turning point in how people would relate to their digital devices. Each would link them directly to their personal data and media sitting in the cloud, in turn tying them ever closer to Apple’s ecosystem.
乔布斯在逝世前数月在新产品发布会上的最后一次公开亮相表明了事情已经在发生改变。iCloud或许没有像苹果的硬件那样激起人们的强烈兴奋感，但乔布斯将iCloud描述成人们与数字设备交互方式的转折点。每台设备都会直接将人们与他们存储在云端的个人数据和媒体连接起来，这进而会让用户更紧密地和苹果的生态系统联系在一起。广州科技翻译公司。
Machine learning is the tech industry’s next battlefront. If Apple succeeds in making all of its products “smarter”, with devices that know you and help you navigate the digital world, it will go another step towards generating digital dependence.
机器学习是科技行业的下一个战场。如果苹果成功地把所有产品制造得“更智能”，其产品了解用户，能够帮助用户在数字化世界里导航，苹果就能在营造数字化依赖性方面更进一步。
Mr Cook also needs to find more ways to make money beyond his blockbuster product. Selling more digital content and services has long been an undeveloped opportunity. As Apple devices become the gateway for an expanding array of media and commerce, this could become a serious — and high margin — revenue stream. When Apple first drew attention to its services revenues earlier this year, it was a PR disaster: Wall Street saw it as an attempt to deflect attention from the flagging iPhone. But services have become Apple’s second biggest revenue line.
库克还需要找到更多除iPhone以外的赚钱方式。长期以来，扩大数字化内容和服务的销售一直是一个未经充分发掘的机会。随着苹果设备成为越来越多的媒体和商业活动的入口，这可能成为一种重要且高利润的收入来源。苹果今年早些时候首次试图引起人们对其服务收入的注意，结果酿成了一场公关灾难：华尔街认为此举其实是试图转移人们对iPhone势头下滑的注意力。但服务已经成为苹果第二大收入来源。
Also, rather than a new blockbuster to rival the iPhone, the Apple universe will depend on an evolving constellation of devices and gadgets. Some will have the potential to move the corporate revenue needle more than others, but all will play a role.
同样的，比起一个能与iPhone比肩的新重磅产品，苹果世界将依赖于由众多设备和配件组成的不断发展的产品群。其中一些将拥有贡献更多企业收入的潜力，但所有产品都将发挥作用。广州科技翻译公司。
Tim Cook’s first five years could be viewed as fulfilling the immediate potential of Mr Jobs’ breakthrough products — iPhone sales have more than tripled in that time and he has turned Apple from Mr Jobs’ pirate ship into a major corporation.
蒂姆•库克的头5年可以视为实现乔布斯突破性产品的即时潜力的5年——iPhone的销售在此期间增长2倍多，他也把苹果从乔布斯的海盗船变成了一家大型企业。
His next five will be about showing that Apple can master many new tricks, and ways of making money. Given its massive sales, the iPhone will be at the centre for years to come. But there is much work to be done to fulfil the potential unleashed by Mr Jobs’ magical handset.
他的下一个5年将是展示苹果能够掌握很多新技巧及赚钱方法的5年。考虑到iPhone的庞大销量，iPhone在未来数年还将占据中心地位。但要完全实现乔布斯的神奇手机释放出来的潜力，还有很多工作要做。
