1000美元iPhone将考验“果粉”忠诚度

Apple will this week test its customers’ loyalty, buying power and enthusiasm for innovation when it unveils the first iPhone to cost as much as $1,000.

苹果(Apple)本周将考验客户的忠诚度、购买力以及对创新的热情，发布第一款售价高达1000美元的iPhone。

Tuesday’s event at Apple’s new Cupertino headquarters is expected to reveal its much-anticipated 10th-anniversary iPhone, offering significant upgrades to the smartphone’s display, camera and overall design.

9月12日，苹果将在位于库比蒂诺(Cupertino)的新总部举行产品发布会，届时备受期待的10周年纪念版iPhone预计将会亮相，这款智能手机的显示屏、摄像头和总体设计都会有重大升级。

The high-end model is an addition to Apple’s line-up, alongside more incremental updates to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus released last year.

这款高端机型将成为苹果产品阵容的一名新成员，加入去年发布的、升级步伐较小的iPhone 7和iPhone 7 Plus的行列。

Analysts believe the launch will help Apple to overcome its growth problem of the last two years. In markets such as America and Europe, where smartphone ownership is close to saturation and many customers are holding on to their existing handsets for longer, the best way to drive faster revenue growth is by charging more for each device, rather than simply relying on unit growth.

分析师们认为，这次新机发布将有助于苹果克服过去两年的增长问题。在像美国和欧洲这样的市场上，智能手机的拥有量已趋近饱和，很多客户不再频繁更换现有手机，推动更快收入增长的最佳途径就是提高单位价格，而不是单纯地依靠出货量。

At the same time, Apple is bringing in costly new components. These include an OLED display that makes the front of the phone into one continuous screen. Depth-sensing cameras will offer new “augmented reality” features and allow the device to be unlocked by face recognition, instead of fingerprint.

与此同时，苹果正在引入昂贵的新组件，包括OLED显示屏，使手机正面成为一个连续屏幕。深度感应摄像头将提供“增强现实”新功能，并允许手机通过人脸识别（而不是指纹）解锁。

At least one model of the next iPhone is expected to feature image-capture technology that can sense depth, and track faces and expressions. A range of new emojis include monkeys and robots, whose animated expressions can mirror the iPhone user’s face as Apple battles for users’ attention with the likes of Facebook and Snapchat.

预计新一代iPhone中，将至少有一款采用人脸识别技术，这种图像捕捉技术能够感知深度，并追踪人脸及表情。随着苹果与Facebook和Snapchat等公司争夺用户的关注度，新一代iPhone将增加一系列包括猴子和机器人的新表情符号，其动画表情能够反映iPhone用户的脸。

More advanced components are in short supply, however, which could leave many customers waiting long after September to get hold of the new iPhone. That presents an opportunity for rivals such as Samsung’s new Note 8 or Essential, the smartphone maker led by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, which is targeting premium customers such as Apple’s with its slick $699 device. Google is also said to be preparing a new version of its Pixel smartphone, which has proved popular with early adopters.

然而，由于这些先进的新组件供应紧张，可能会让许多客户在9月之后才能等到新款iPhone。这给Essential或三星(Samsung) Note 8等竞争对手带来了机会；Essential是由安卓(Android)操作系统的联合创始人安迪?鲁宾(Andy Rubin)领导的智能手机制造商，该公司正以其售价699美元的时尚新机型瞄准苹果等竞争对手的高端客户。据信谷歌(Google)也在筹备新版Pixel智能手机，这款手机很受早期试用者欢迎。