许多中国人现在推迟购买苹果设备

 　　Apple’s flagship store in Wangfujing, a central shopping district in Beijing, is a hive of activity. But, unfortunately for the iPhone maker¹, most people are not there to buy.

　　坐落在北京市中心商业区王府井的苹果(Apple)旗舰店人头攒动，但对iPhone的制造商来说，遗憾的是，大多数人来这里并不买手机。

　　Part of the problem may be short term, according to staff in the shop. Many Chinese are putting off buying an Apple device until the new iPhone 7 model comes out in September, says an employee, who adds that a lull³ in sales before a big launch is to be expected. “There’s no reason for any concern; when the new phone comes out sales will pick up,” he says.

　　店内员工表示，一部分问题可能是短期的。一位店员表示，许多中国人现在推迟购买苹果设备，要等今年9月iPhone 7上市。他补充称，在推出重大产品前销售停滞是意料之中的。他说：“没有理由担忧；当新手机推出时，销量就会上升。”

　　Liu Shan, a matronly woman guiding her teenage cousin around the store, is one of the few seemingly in the shop to buy a phone — but even she fails to show the sort of devoted⁴ Apple fandom that made China the company’s largest market outside the US.

　　刘珊（音译）是一位看似家庭主妇的女士，她带着十几岁的表妹同来。她是店内似乎会买手机的少数人之一，但从她身上看不到“果粉”的那种痴迷——正是这些果粉让中国成为苹果在美国以外的最大市场。

　　“She’s just a student,” she says of her youthful charge, flicking⁵ through a display of iPads, “so there’s no need to wait for an iPhone 7. We’re very pragmatic.”

　　浏览着iPad的展示画面，刘珊谈到自己的表妹时表示：“她只是个学生，因此没有必要等待iPhone 7上市。我们非常务实。”

　　This lack of excitement points to the bigger problem Apple faces in China. A drop in revenues in the country by a third last quarter signalled to some that the company’s capacity to dazzle smartphone shoppers has been diminished amid stiffer competition from cheaper local competitors producing more technologically⁷ advanced devices.

　　这种缺乏热情的表现反映出苹果在中国面临更大的问题。上季度苹果在华收入下降三分之一，这让一些人觉得，随着来自产品物美价廉的本土厂商的竞争加剧，苹果让智能手机购买者迷恋的能力下降了。

　　The fall in sales should not have come as a surprise. Baidu, China’s biggest search engine, used a fall in search queries⁸ as a proxy⁹ for foot traffic to Apple stores to correctly predict a 23-34 per cent year-on-year fall in Apple’s quarterly revenues in China.

　　人们不应对苹果销售下降感到意外。中国最大的搜索引擎百度(Baidu)用搜索查询数量的下降作为苹果商店客流量的晴雨表，正确地预测苹果在华季度收入同比下降23%-34%。

　　Chinese smartphone users are no longer buying into the hype as they once did. When Apple first launched an iPhone in 2009, the smartphone was a status symbol for young Chinese middle class consumers.

　　中国智能手机用户不再像过去那样跟风购买。当2009年苹果首次在中国销售iPhone时，拥有一部iPhone是中国年轻的中产阶级消费者有地位的象征。

　　Apple consolidated¹⁰ its position with the release of several new phones aimed at the local market, briefly¹¹ pushing the group to the top of China’s smartphone market last year.

　　苹果针对中国市场发布了数款新手机，巩固了其地位，去年一度占据中国智能手机市场份额的头把交椅。

　　But Xiang Ligang, an expert on China’s telecommunications sector¹², says that Apple now faces a challenge in “keeping itself interesting” in China, namely that the group was “looking like a trend follower¹³ these days”.

　　但中国电信业专家项立刚表示，苹果目前在中国面临“保持自身有趣”的挑战，也就是说该集团“最近看起来就像是潮流跟随者”。

　　Crucially, local rivals have caught up with, and in some cases exceeded, the sort of technological⁶ advances that were once the calling card of the US tech group.

　　关键问题是，技术上的先进一度是这家美国科技公司的名片，但本土竞争对手已经迎头赶上，在某些情况下还有所超越。

　　Rumours¹⁴ suggest that the forthcoming iPhone 7 will have a dual-lens camera, for example, but by the time it launches in September “it will look old”, says Mr Xiang.

　　项立刚表示，比如有传言称，即将发布的iPhone 7将会有双摄像头，但到9月发布时，“这种配置将会显得过时”。

　　Many competitors already have dual-lens cameras on their newer phones, such as Huawei’s P9 launched in April, and Xiaomi’s Redmi Pro².

　　许多竞争对手已经在新款手机上配置了双摄像头，比如华为(Huawei)今年4月推出的P9，以及小米(Xiaomi)推出的红米Pro。

　　“The Chinese phonemakers are fast catching¹⁵ up with Apple in quality and performance, and the consumer mindset is also evolving,” says Mr Xiang. “Some users will always associate Apple with wealth and taste but, for a lot of users, sporting a Huawei or Oppo will no longer cause them to lose face.”

　　项立刚表示：“中国手机制造商迅速在品质和性能上追赶苹果，消费者心态也在转变。一些用户始终会把苹果与财富和品位联系在一起，但对许多用户来说，拿着华为或Oppo手机将不再让他们感到丢脸。”

　　Getting China right is important for Apple; until the previous quarter, it was the company’s fastest-growing market.

　　对苹果来说，搞定中国市场非常重要。截止上季度，中国还是苹果增长最快的市场。

　　The drop in sales in China has added to Apple’s troubles as it faces a number of setbacks in the country, from a spurious copyright infringement¹⁶ lawsuit¹⁷ — alleging¹⁸ a Chinese company owned the iPhone trademark¹⁹ — to a ban on its iTunes video service.

　　苹果在中国麻烦缠身，从假冒商标侵权诉讼——起诉一家拥有iPhone商标的中国公司——到iTunes视频服务被禁，而在中国市场销售下降更是雪上加霜。

　　But devices are core to its success. Apple has ceded²⁰ ground to Huawei, as well as to relatively²¹ unknown brands such as Oppo and Vivo, who took the top three slots respectively in market share rankings for the second quarter, according to Canalys, the research group.

　　但设备是其成败的关键。苹果已经将部分市场份额拱手让给华为，以及Oppo和Vivo等相对不太出名的品牌。根据市场研究公司Canalys的数据，在今年二季度，华为、Oppo和Vivo分别占据中国市场份额前三甲位置。

　　Research by Counterpoint Technology, the market research firm, shows that Oppo passed Huawei in the second quarter to become the top-selling smartphone in China, with 22 per cent market share.

　　市场研究公司Counterpoint Technology的研究显示，Oppo在二季度超过华为，成为中国市场最畅销的智能手机，占据22%的市场份额。

　　Oppo and Vivo, both largely unknown brands abroad, are both owned by BBK Electronics, based in the southern city of Dongguan.

　　在国外没什么名气的Oppo和Vivo都隶属总部位于东莞的步步高电子(BBK)旗下。

　　Apple in the previous quarter came fifth in China, accounting²² for a market share of 9 per cent, just ahead of Samsung, according to Canalys.

　　Canalys的数据显示，苹果上季度在中国市场排名第五，占据9%的市场份额，仅领先于三星。

　　China’s smartphone market grew 3 per cent in the last quarter, according to the group.

　　该集团表示，中国智能手机市场规模在上季度增长3%。

　　Research from Piper Jaffray estimated that mainland China accounted for 15 per cent of Apple sales in the quarter, adding that part of the drop can be accounted for by an inventory²³ drawdown and that the numbers “look worse than they are”.

　　Piper Jaffray在研究报告中估计，苹果上季度销售的15%来自中国内地。该机构补充称，销售下降在一定程度上可以说是去库存造成的，而且数据“看起来比实际情况糟糕”。

　　Bryan Ma, analyst²⁴ at IDC, the research firm, says Chinese consumers quickly tire of last year’s, or even last month’s, model. “One of Apple’s problems in China is its product refreshes?.?.?.?or lack thereof,” he says.

　　研究公司IDC的分析师马伯远(Bryan Ma)表示，中国消费者迅速厌烦了去年、乃至上月的机型。他说：“苹果在中国的问题之一是产品更新换代……或者更新换代不力。”

　　The fickleness²⁵ of the savvy²⁶ Chinese consumer has already caused problems for rivals, which have also struggled to stay on top of the China smartphone market. Previous years have seen Samsung and Xiaomi topping the charts at some point only to fall back.

　　长了见识的中国消费者如今不再忠诚于某个品牌，这已经对竞争对手们造成了问题，后者也很难持续占据中国智能手机市场的榜首位置。一度位列榜首的三星和小米在前几年排名已经下降。

　　Crucial to staying relevant is to promise something new. Mr Ma says the worry for Apple is that supposedly leaked images of the iPhone 7 appear to show little difference from the iPhone 6S.

　　贴合市场需求的关键在于承诺推出新产品。马伯远表示，对苹果来说，令人担忧的是，从据说是iPhone 7泄露的照片看，这款手机的外观似乎与iPhone 6S没有多大不同。

　　“Apple needs to make sure that the next product looks noticeably different from the previous version, as the physical appearance is critical in market such as China where iPhones are viewed as status symbols”.

　　“苹果需要确保下一款产品看起来与前款产品明显不同，因为在iPhones被视为地位象征的中国等市场，物理外观非常重要。”

 

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

5 flicking   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马，之后挥动了缰绳。
• There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

8 queries   

n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问

参考例句：

• Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
• Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

10 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

14 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

16 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

17 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

18 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

19 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

20 ceded   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Cuba was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898. 古巴在1898年被西班牙割让给美国。
• A third of the territory was ceded to France. 领土的三分之一割让给了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

22 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

23 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

24 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。

25 fickleness   

n.易变；无常；浮躁；变化无常

参考例句：

• While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature. 她一方面总是批评人的本性朝三暮四。 来自互联网
• Cor.1:17 This therefore intending, did I then use fickleness? 林后一17我有这样的意思，难道是行事轻浮么？ 来自互联网

26 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？