iPhone 6S可能为刺激销售放弃杀手锏

 　　Little interest in the next iPhone's purported¹ Force Touch feature combined with weak demand in China could sink iPhone sales in the fourth quarter, says analyst² Ming-Chi Kuo.

　　分析师郭明池称，下一代iPhone的压感触控功能(Force Touch)在中国遭到了冷遇，国内需求低，这很可能会导致iPhone第四季度销量下滑。

　　Reportedly slated³ for the iPhone 6S, Force Touch makes the screen pressure-sensitive so it responds to how you press on the surface and is already in use on the the MacBook and Apple Watch. But Force Touch has failed to generate much excitement among MacBook and Apple Watch owners, Kuo said in an investors⁴ note picked up on Tuesday by Taiwanese news site Apple Daily. So Force Touch may not be "the most significant change to the iPhone's interface⁵ to date" that the analyst claimed it would be in an April report, according to Kuo's latest opinion.

　　据称，具备压感触控功能的iPhone 6S可以感知用户按压表面的不同力度，从而调出不同的对应功能。而这项技术已经在MacBook和Apple Watch上得到了应用。但是本周二的台湾苹果日报中刊登了郭明池的这样一番评价：压感触控并没有在MacBook和Apple Watch的用户激起很大的反响。与今年4月份郭明池爆料iPhone 6S将支持Force Touch的时候态度明显不同，他现在并不认为压感触控是“苹果iOS迄今为止最大的变革”了。

　　Expected to be released in September, the next iPhone comes in an "off-year" for Apple. That means the new handset will likely offer a few enhancements and one significant new feature. But this year's phone won't be considered a major upgrade as was last year's big-screened iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. If Force Touch doesn't prove to be a killer⁶ feature for the new iPhone, existing iPhone users may see little reason to upgrade. That could push overall iPhone sales down in the fourth quarter, according to Kuo.

　　预计在九月份发布的下一代iPhone可谓是“生不逢时”。一般来说，新机除了会做一些性能提升外，更重要的是会带来一项重要的新功能。但是今年的iPhone相比去年发布的大屏幕iPhone6和 IPhone6 Plus而言，恐怕不足以吸引用户升级购买。郭明池认为，如果Force Touch对于新的iPhone来说确实不能算作杀手级特性的话，iPhone手机的当前用户几乎没有理由购买新机，这也将导致iPhone的销量在第四季度直线下跌。

　　Another factor that Kuo believes will hurt fourth-quarter iPhone sales is China. Still the world's largest smartphone market, China is seeing weaker demand for mobile phones as the market has become more saturated⁷. Apple has been hit by the downturn, losing its spot as the No. 1 smartphone seller in China and now in third place behind local vendors⁸ Xiaomi and Huawei, according to research firm Canalys. Even Apple CEO Tim Cook has acknowledged that China could see some "speed bumps" because of economic woes⁹.

　　郭明池认为会损害iPhone第四季度销量的另一因素就是中国。中国当前仍是世界上最大的智能手机市场，但其手机市场已经趋于饱和，用户对于手机的需求正在减弱。据调研公司Canalys的数据显示，苹果公司已经开始衰退了，当前已失去了在中国智能手机销量第一的地位，位于本土品牌小米和华为之后，屈居第三。甚至苹果的CEO Tim Cook都已经承认，由于经济低迷，中国市场的发展已经进入了“减速带”。

　　With no real killer feature for the new iPhone and sluggish¹⁰ demand in China, Kuo said that iPhone sales in the fourth quarter could fall to between 65 million and 75 million. If that forecast isn't on the higher side, then sales would actually drop below the record 74.5 million iPhones reported in the same quarter in 2014. That would mark the first time that quarterly iPhone sales dropped on a year-to-year basis.

　　郭明池预测，由于新版iPhone没有真正的杀手级特性，而中国市场需求也不旺盛，iPhone在第四季度的销售可能会跌至6500-7500万部左右。照此估计，iPhone的销量将低于去年同期苹果7450万部的骄人成绩，也将面临其历史上第一次销量下滑。

　　Nothing definitive¹¹ is known about the next iPhone at this point. Apple is expected to stick with the same screen sizes introduced last year -- one iPhone with a 4.8-inch screen and a larger edition with a 5.5-inch display. Kuo has suggested that the new phones will be powered by the Samsung-produced A9 processor, the successor to the current A8 chip. Combine that with 2GB of RAM¹², and the next iPhones would offer a hefty bump in power and speed over the iPhone 6.

　　截止目前，关于新版iPhone的任何消息均不能保证确切。苹果公司很可能继续延续去年发布的屏幕尺寸版本：一款4.8英寸，同时发布一版5.5英寸屏幕的iPhone。郭明池预测新版iPhone将会采用三星制造的A9处理器，以代替当前的A8芯片。再结合2GB的RAM存储器，下一代iPhone将比iPhone6在运行和速度方面都有一个飞跃。

1 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

6 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

7 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

8 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

10 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

11 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

12 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。