美国当地时间9月10日上午10点,一年一度的苹果秋季新品发布会在加州库比蒂诺的Apple Park乔布斯剧院内举行。发布会上苹果公司推出新款手机iPhone 11 Pro、iPhone 11 Pro Max、iPhone 11、智能手表Apple Watch Series、和智能平板电脑iPad等新款产品。
苹果今年的新品几乎是对往年产品的迭代更新,没有太多让人惊艳之处,但今年新品的定价却引起各方的关注。苹果一改往年定价不断攀升的传统,今年推出的旗舰版iPhone 11 Pro Max定价在1,099美元,与目前苹果最贵的iPhone价格一样,而低配版iPhone 11的起步价为699美元,比去年推出的iPhone XR的首次亮相价格低50美元,iPhone 8的价格也下调了150美元至449美元。苹果新的定价机制表明战略的转变,未来苹果的盈利模式会趋向于服务,而非设备价格。
接下来让我们跟随《金融时报》这篇文章,走进苹果的新品。
Apple shifts strategy after hitting price ceilingPush to retain users sees cost of entry-level iPhone fall and rollout of $4.99 streaming为了留住用户,入门级iPhone的定价下降,4.99美元的流媒体服务也将推出Apple is the margin-leading premium operator when it comes to smartphones. But at its annual hardware launch event, the iPhone maker unveiled an aggressive pitch to expand its user base with new pricing options for the latest smartphones, iPads and Apple Watches.在智能手机领域,苹果是定价高手。但在其年度新品发布会上,这家iPhone制造商通过它最新的智能手机、iPads和手表的新的定价选择,做了积极的宣传,以扩大其用户基础。The cost of buying a new iPhone has been climbing consistently — Apple unveiled the first $999 smartphone in 2017 followed by a $1,099 version last year — as the market has matured, and the company had to find another way of making up for the gap left by fewer consumers upgrading or replacing their devices. But on Tuesday, Apple’s shift in strategy was palpable, even as the technology improvements were modest.买新iPhone的价格一直在上升——2017年,苹果发布了第一款999美元的智能手机,去年的新款价格则攀升到1099美元,随着市场的成熟,苹果公司必须找到另一种方式,来填补越来越少的用户会升级或更换手机这一现实差距。周二的发布会可以看出苹果的这种战略转变,尽管在技术上没什么进步。The company has made a concerted effort to boost its offering in services, from music and gaming to movies and streaming TV, in a bid to ensure existing customers stick with the iPhone and to better lure potential customers into its widening ecosystem. More than 420m people now subscribe to a range of its offerings, with Apple Music having overtaken Spotify in the US for paid music streaming services.该公司多管齐下,以期扩大其在音乐、游戏、电影和流媒体电视等领域的服务,以确保现有客户能坚持使用iPhone,并更好地吸引潜在客户进入其不断扩大的生态系统。目前,超过4.2亿人订阅了该公司的一系列产品,其中苹果音乐在美国付费音乐流媒体服务方面已超过Spotify。“For rivals the only big margin they get is when they sell hardware,” said Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight. “But even if you’re using a three or four-year-old iPhone, Apple is still getting money from you whether it’s the iCloud service, or Apple Arcade on games or Apple TV on content. That’s a pretty unique position.”CCS Insight研究主管本·伍德表示:“对于竞争对手来说,他们只有在卖出产品的时候,才能获得利润。但即使你使用的是已经3年或4年的iPhone,苹果仍然在从你那里赚钱,无论是iCloud服务,还是关于游戏的苹果街机(Apple Arcade),还是内容方面的苹果电视(Apple TV)。这是非常独特的。”The new products announced, however, were criticised for only featuring iterative improvements, and the company failed to launch a 5G-capable smartphone.然而,该公司发布的新产品被批评只以迭代改进为特色,而且该公司未能推出一款支持5G功能的智能手机。Apple told fans it was delivering on promises with huge advances in the quality of its products, but the pricing of the new items indicated that the company has hit a ceiling — at least for now.苹果公司告诉粉丝,它正在兑现承诺,大幅提高产品质量,但新产品的定价表明,该公司(定价)已经触顶——至少目前是这样。The iPhone 11 Pro Max, the new flagship triple-lens camera device with a 6.5-inch screen, will start at $1,099, the same entry price as the company’s most expensive iPhone. This is the first time in years that Apple has not raised the price of its top-end phone.配备6.5英寸屏幕的新款旗舰三镜头相机设备iPhone 11 Pro Max的起价为1,099美元,与该公司现有的最贵的iPhone价格一样。这是苹果多年来首次没有提高其高端手机的价格。More significant, the entry-level iPhone 11 will start at $699, or $50 less than the price at which the iPhone XR debuted a year ago. The cost of the iPhone 8 has also been cut to $449, a $150 reduction that highlights how Apple is expanding its smartphone portfolio so that its services reach the broadest array of people.更重要的是,入门级iPhone 11的起价为699美元,比一年前首次推出的iPhone XR的价格低50美元。iPhone 8的价格也下调了150美元,至449美元,凸显出苹果正在扩大其智能手机产品组合,以使其服务覆盖最广泛的人群。