Apple is expected to unveil its latest device, the iPhone 6s (or 7), on September 9 in what should be a sigh of relief for investors, who have had a tough ride this week. Despite CEO Tim Cook’s assurance that China’s economic difficulties should not adversely impact the tech giant’s sales, the company’s stock is still trading below its $115 a share level just a few weeks ago, even after the robust market rally on Thursday, and far below its 52-week high of $134.54 a share.
蘋果公司估計將於9月9日宣布最新款電話iPhone 6s(或iPhone 7)，在曩昔一周閱歷股價震動的投資者們理應松一口吻。只管首席履行官蒂姆錠克信誓旦旦地宣稱，中國的經濟逆境不會對這家科技巨子的銷量造成負面影響，但就在幾周前，蘋果股價仍然低於115美元，即就是在上周四股市強勁反彈以後仍然如斯，遠低於52周以來的最高點134.54美元。
At least some of the market punishment seems unique to Apple. Investors are worried about the company for many reasons, including competition from low-cost Chinese smartphone makers and only modest traction for Apple Music and Apple Pay.
最少，來自市場的某些處分仿佛便是專門沖著蘋果來的。投資者有很多來由為這家公司擔憂，好比中國智妙手機廠商的低價競爭，Apple Music和Apple Pay的吸引力非常有限，等等。
Which is why the new iPhone is crucial for Apple to restore investors’ confidence, and there’s a good chance it will for several reasons.
有鑒於此，投資者可否重拾信念，新款iPhone的表示相當主要。基於如下幾個緣故原由，它極可能會不負所望。
The phone will have a 12 megapixel camera, a big increase from previous versions; 4k video recording; faster processing speed; longer battery life, which many users consider to be an extremely important feature, according to multiple studies cited by Tech Insider; animated wallpaper like the Apple Watch and Android phones; the ability to detect when a Wi-Fi network is weak and automatically switch to cellular; and Wi-Fi calling over AT&T, previously limited to T-Mobile.
這款電話具有遠超前幾代產物的1200萬像素攝像頭、4K視頻錄制功效、更快的處置速率、更長的電池續航時光(據Tech Insider援用的多項調研表現，用戶以為這一點極其主要)、相似Apple Watch和安卓電話的動態墻紙。這款電話能辨認較差的Wi-Fi收集旌旗燈號，並在這種情況中主動切換至蜂窩收集。這代電話的Wi-Fi通話功效還支撐AT&T的收集，此前僅限於T-Mobile。
But what’s expected to be the most important new feature of all: force touch, a technology that enables a device to distinguish between light and strong taps by a user and assign different functions to them, as it currently does on the Apple Watch and MacBooks. Applied to the iPhone, this could potentially be the killer feature that solidly differentiates the new iPhone from its predecessors by enhancing ease-of-use and utility.
不外該電話最主要的新特點照樣壓感想控(force touch)，這項技巧能讓裝備辨認用戶的輕度和重度觸屏，並為它們分派分歧的功效。它今朝已在Apple Watch和Macbook上實現了。一旦該技巧運用於新款iPhone上，就大概成為一項王牌特點，使其在操縱輕便性和功效適用性方面遠遠甩開前幾代產物。
An improvement to the user experience has always been at the heart of Apple’s success with new models and the force touch feature can provide this. Force touch is also new enough to encourage buyers to replace their existing phones, a major driver of sales in in China, one of Apple’s key markets. Force Touch should also help Apple maintain its position in the Asian market, where competitor Huawei is reportedly introducing a similar feature to its smartphones.
加強用戶感受一向是蘋果勝利的不貳秘訣，而新款機型和壓感想控特點就可以做到這一點。壓感想控這項技巧充足新鮮，能讓用戶有動力調換現有機型，在蘋果的主要市場中國，這是進步銷量的一大身分。壓感想控還能贊助蘋果保持其在亞洲市場的位置，聽說中國的競爭敵手華為行將在智妙手機上推出相似功效。
Another factor working in Apple’s favor is that while the company may have a hard time outdoing its blockbuster sales for the iPhone 6, new equipment installment plans from wireless carriers might encourage adoption for the new iPhone by consumers. An increasing percentage of AT&T and Verizon customers have been opting for these plans, which don’t tie them down to two-year contracts and allow them to upgrade early.
另外一個身分也大概成為蘋果一大利好。誠然，在iPhone 6大獲勝利以後，蘋果公司的事跡大概很難再上一層樓。不外，無線收集運營商供給的新裝備分期付款籌劃大概會勉勵用戶購置新iPhone。愈來愈多的AT&T和威瑞森的客人都開端選取這種籌劃。這些籌劃不會把他們約束在兩年的合約中，可讓他們及早進級電話。
Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates that about 14.9 million U.S. customers will be eligible for upgrades at the end of this year, compared to 5.3 million last fall when the iPhone 6 launched, according to The Wall Street Journal.
斯坦福伯恩斯坦公司剖析師托尼薩克納西估計，約莫有1490萬美國用戶可以在本年歲尾前進級電話。而據《華爾街日報》所述，客歲秋日iPhone 6宣布時，這一數值是530萬。
Finally, even though Apple continues to trail Samsung in terms of worldwide smartphone sales, which fell in the second quarter of 2015, Apple’s market share rose to 14.6% from 12.2% a year ago, while Samsung’s declined to 21.9% from 26.2%, according to research firm Gartner. In China, too, Apple’s iPhone sales grew by 68% last quarter to 11.9 million units, indicating that the company is making inroads in that market despite its challenges. “It’s a big brand and people really associate that with their status and it’s kind of an aspirational brand so many of the consumers in China expect to own an iPhone at some point of time,” says Gartner research director Anshul Gupta.
末了，只管蘋果在環球智妙手機銷量上仍舊不及三星，後者的銷量在2015年第二季度有所下滑。研討公司高德納的數據表現，蘋果的市場占領率從客歲的12.2%上升到14.6%，而三星從26.2%降低到21.5%。在中國，蘋果的iPhone銷量上季度大漲68%，到達1190萬部。這充足證實，只管中國市場充斥挑釁，蘋果仍然可以或許披荊棘，高歌大進。高德納研討總監安舒爾古普塔表現：“蘋果是一個大品牌，人們真的很認同它的位置。這也是一個讓很多人求之不得的品牌，許多中國客人都願望有朝一日能具有一部iPhone。”
Some words of caution here. Apple’s new product launches are always surrounded by hype and predictions that don’t always come true. It remains to be seen how good the final product will be and, of course, how many people will buy it. In addition, analyst expectations could be inflated, as they were last quarter, setting Apple up to disappoint Wall Street even with a great smartphone.
不外這裏也要提個醒。蘋果的新產物老是被吹得信口開河，但這些預言並非總能實現。終極宣布的產物畢竟有多好，和有若幹人樂意買單，還需拭目以待。別的，就想上個季度同樣，剖析師的估計也大概太高，華爾街終極大概以絕望了結。
Nonetheless, given the importance of the new iPhone as investors add pressure on Apple’s stock, it’s a safe bet that the company is going take this particular launch very seriously. Stay tuned for September 9th.
只管如斯，因為投資者賡續對蘋果股價施壓，新款iPhone的主要性不問可知，咱們可以確定蘋果會嚴正看待此次特殊的宣布會。9月9日切實其實是使人等待的一天。
市場價：HK$ 110
