文/丹尼爾·以蘭·迪爾格譯/郝薇審訂/錢多秀

蘋果手機的輝煌十年

文/丹尼爾·以蘭·迪爾格譯/郝薇審訂/錢多秀

十年前，史蒂夫·喬布斯在蘋果2007年度大會上發(fā)表主題演講，揭開了第一代蘋果手機的神秘面紗。蘋果手機不僅僅是一個新產(chǎn)品，還提供了一個全新的計算平臺并且迅速提高了移動計算技術(shù)的復雜度。

Ten years ago, Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone during his keynote address at Macworld 2007. More than just a new product, the new device launched a radical new computing platform and rapidly accelerated the sophistication1sophistication 復雜，高水平。of mobile computing.

為什么蘋果手機萬眾矚目：iPod的繼承者

[2] 喬布斯稱蘋果手機為“一個可觸摸操作的寬屏iPod，一部革命性的移動手機，一臺突破性的網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)備”。開始的時候，他暗示蘋果公司打算推出三款新產(chǎn)品，后來才透露公司真正要推出的是一款三合一新產(chǎn)品，一款能夠兼顧iPod媒體播放器并且具備強大聯(lián)網(wǎng)計算功能的高端手機。

Why iPhone was a big deal: an iPod heir

[2] Jobs introduced iPhone “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough Internet device,” coyly suggesting at fi rst that Apple was set to introduce three new products. He then revealed that he was actually describing one new product: a mobile phone with the sophistication to act as both an iPod media player and as a powerful networked computing device.

[3]蘋果手機的絕妙之處在于蘋果公司巧妙地將其獨有的多項相關(guān)技術(shù)融為一體，令其他競爭對手難以復制。

[3] The genius of the iPhone was that it irreducibly2irreducibly 不能減少地；不能簡化地。combined multiple families of technology that Apple uniquely possessed, making it difficult for competitors to copy.

[4]截止到2006年底，蘋果公司的iPod歷經(jīng)五年發(fā)展，將外殼、電池、顯示屏、存儲和控制器設(shè)計相關(guān)技術(shù)融為一體，在操作復雜度方面已經(jīng)達到令人驚嘆的高度，批量生產(chǎn)了數(shù)千萬臺，在全球范圍內(nèi)獲得了持續(xù)盈利。

[4] By the end of 2006, Apple’s half decade of iPod development had reached an impressive level of operational sophistication involving case, battery, display, storage and controller designs combined in a package that was then mass produced by the tens of millions and sold at a sustainable3sustainable 可持續(xù)的。profit globally.

[5]除了iPod的硬件部分，蘋果公司還研發(fā)出一套生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，于iTunes內(nèi)部銷售音像內(nèi)容，推出了最早的一批移動軟件iPod Games。包括大型媒體公司在內(nèi)的其他公司基本未能開發(fā)出能與iTunes抗衡的產(chǎn)品。

[5] Alongside iPod hardware, Apple had also developed an ecosystem within iTunes for selling music and video content and the beginnings of mobile software with iPod Games. Other companies―including big media firms―had largely failed in their own efforts to build anything like iTunes.

為什么蘋果手機一鳴驚人：繼承發(fā)揚蘋果操作系統(tǒng)

[6] 2004年，一些權(quán)威人士開始思考蘋果公司是否應(yīng)該放棄電腦部分業(yè)務(wù)而專攻各種iPod產(chǎn)品，然而有這一想法的人大多都渾然不知蘋果電腦操作平臺對于蘋果手機（即將取代iPod）的重要意義。

Why iPhone was a big deal: a macOS heritage

[6] By 2004, some pundits4pundit 專家，權(quán)威人士。began musing5muse沉思；冥想。that the company should probably just throw away the Macintosh and focus on iPods. However, that observation was blindly ignorant of how valuable the Macintosh platform would become to the iPod’s replacement.

[7]從本質(zhì)上來說，蘋果手機是縮小版的超級移動蘋果電腦，可以運行強大的軟件，這令它集iPod和電話功能于一身，還能運行新的移動應(yīng)用程序，例如蘋果瀏覽器、郵件、日歷以及新的地圖客戶端，該功能可以從谷歌地圖載入圖像，輕易實現(xiàn)對鎖定地點的滾動、放大或縮小。

[7] Essentially, iPhone was a scaled down, ultra mobile Mac that could run powerful software, enabling it to act as an iPod, as a phone and also run new mobile applications, such as the company’s Safari browser, Mail, Calendar, and its new Maps client that loaded images from Google Maps and presented them on an effortlessly scrollable and scalable view with pinned locations.

蘋果手機就是NeXT的iMac

[8]蘋果收購NeXT公司，預示了NeXT的復雜軟件將與蘋果現(xiàn)有的設(shè)計、批量生產(chǎn)和計算硬件銷售的能力相結(jié)合。最主要的是，NeXT的軟件程序能夠幫助蘋果更好地開發(fā)和維護應(yīng)用程序。

iPhone was the NeXT iMac

[8] Apple’s acquisition of NeXT envisioned6envision 展望，想象。that NeXT’s sophisticated software (which among other things made it far easier to develop and maintain apps) could be combined with Apple’s existing ability to design, mass produce and sell computing hardware.

[9] 2001年，蘋果公司推出了自己的Mac OS X操作系統(tǒng)，并迅速發(fā)布了一系列新軟件，與此同時還推出了新版iPod并開始擴建其iTunes媒體帝國。微軟公司當時不僅沒有生產(chǎn)出能夠與iPod抗衡的產(chǎn)品，并且直到2006年Vista面世才為Windows系統(tǒng)推出自行研發(fā)的高級圖形合成引擎。

[9] Apple introduced macOS X7蘋果公司為麥金塔電腦開發(fā)的專屬操作系統(tǒng)。Mac OS X于1998年首次推出，并從2002年起隨麥金塔電腦發(fā)售。in 2001 and rapidly iterated8iterate 重復，反復申明。a series of new software releases, even as it also launched its new iPod and began building out its iTunes media empire. Microsoft not only struggled to match the iPod, but also failed to introduce its own advanced graphics compositing9composite 混合成的，綜合成的。engine for Windows until Vista arrived in 2006.

[10]盡管那么多年微軟一直試圖跟上蘋果的步伐推新，但它沒想到蘋果始終棋先一招，著眼于開發(fā)比自家已公開發(fā)布的產(chǎn)品更棒的東西。

[10] While Microsoft spent all those years trying to catch up to what Apple was delivering, it failed to predict that Apple itself was working on greaterthings that it had been announcing and releasing to the public.

[11]就在微軟推出熱議已久卻姍姍來遲的Windows新版本Longhorn之后不久，蘋果公司已經(jīng)準備好推出其秘密研發(fā)的新產(chǎn)品，技術(shù)進步神速，是iPod外形與iMac內(nèi)在的絕佳組合——蘋果手機。

[11] Shortly after Microsoft belatedly10belatedly 延遲地。introduced its new version of Windows that it had been talking about in public for years (“Longhorn”), Apple prepared to release its secret work on a rapidly advanced new hybrid of the iMac in an iPod sized form-factor: iPhone.

[12] 2006年，蘋果公司已清楚地證明了銷售一體化產(chǎn)品（如蘋果電腦和iPod）也能獲得利潤。而當蘋果手機一經(jīng)推出，當年內(nèi)即迅速將微軟Windows Mobile系統(tǒng)擊敗。

[12] By 2006, Apple had clearly proven that money could be made from selling integrated products: Macs and iPods. When it introduced iPhone, it rapidly blew Windows Mobile out of the water11blow out of the water （絕對性地）擊潰對手。before the end of that same year.

[13]一個很重要的原因是蘋果將電子游戲中的一些噱頭搬到了蘋果手機軟件研究中，正是這些噱頭曾讓蘋果電腦操作系統(tǒng)富有活力并受人追捧，對用戶的指觸做出即時反應(yīng)，頁面滾動時沒有延遲。對比之下，當時的智能手機如諾基亞的塞班操作系統(tǒng)、Palm掌上電腦操作系統(tǒng)和黑莓操作系統(tǒng)成了老古董。

[13] One primary reason: Apple had applied some of the same video game tricks that had rendered macOS X animated and “l(fā)ickable” in the development of iPhone software, giving it an instantaneous12instan-taneous 即刻的，瞬間的。response to fi nger touches and lag free13lag free 無延遲。performance in scrolling. This made existing smartphones look archaic in comparison, from Nokia’s Symbian to Palm OS14一個電腦操作系統(tǒng)，為Palm公司制造的Palm系列手持個人數(shù)字助理（PDAs）提供一個軟件平臺。PDA即personal digital assistant，風行于20世紀90 年代。to BlackBerry.

蘋果手機讓多個行業(yè)措手不及

[14]蘋果公司能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)蘋果手機軟硬件的傳奇，與其能夠?qū)⒐鞠冗M軟件技術(shù)緊密融入新設(shè)備的硬件功能息息相關(guān)。以現(xiàn)在的標準看來第一代蘋果手機速度較慢且功能有限，但即使這樣，它裝備的處理能力和內(nèi)存也要遠遠優(yōu)于當時的智能手機。

iPhone caught multiple industries fl atfooted

[14] Apple’s ability to pull off hard- ware and software magic with iPhone was closely related to its ability to tightly integrate its advanced software to the hardware capabilities of the new device. Despite being slow and limited by modern standards, the original iPhone packed far more processing power and RAM than existing smartphones.

[15]與此同時，蘋果公司也運用一些巧妙的策略來突破硬件的局限，比如在用戶按下快門之前先一步采集照片數(shù)據(jù)，這樣可以使照片成像快于硬件實際處理時間。

[15] At the same time, Apple also accounted for hardware limitations through the use of clever tricks, such as capturing photo data before the user touched the shutter, resulting in the appearance of photo capture faster than the hardware was actually capable of doing.

[16]這一實用且稱心的創(chuàng)新設(shè)計使用戶感到開心的同時，也令競爭對手們驚慌失措。蘋果手機推出后的三年里，其他所有智能手機平臺疲于維護自己已推出的產(chǎn)品并且掙扎著想要追上蘋果公司的發(fā)展步伐，結(jié)果卻被蘋果擠出了原有市場。

[16] This not only delighted users with functional, desirable novelty, but it confounded15confound 挫敗；使混亂。competitors. All of the smartphone platforms that existed when iPhone was released were effectively knocked out of business16out of business 破產(chǎn)，失業(yè)。within the next three years as they grappled with maintaining their existing products while scrambling to catch up with what Apple had released.

[17]其他所有移動平臺的大范圍失敗給谷歌的安卓系統(tǒng)提供了發(fā)展空間，這一系統(tǒng)旨在給第三方硬件生產(chǎn)商提供一個類似Windows的系統(tǒng)平臺，從而生產(chǎn)出設(shè)計和功能類似蘋果手機的產(chǎn)品。然而與計劃相比，這一目標實現(xiàn)起來困難得多，很大程度上是因為蘋果在緊密融合軟硬件資源方面存在優(yōu)勢。

[17] The mass failure of every other mobile platform left an opening for Google’s Android, which promised to offer a Windows-like platform for third party hardware makers that would give them a product that looked and worked like an iPhone. However, that proved to be far more difficult than planned, largely because of Apple’s advantages in tight integration.

[18]除了手機生產(chǎn)商受到?jīng)_擊，蘋果手機的通用計算平臺實際上還促使其他行業(yè)退出歷史舞臺，如傻瓜相機、GPS導航儀和獨立的網(wǎng)絡(luò)訪問設(shè)備。

[18] Beyond phone makers, the general purposing computing platform of iPhone also helped virtually erase other entire industries, ranging from point and shoot cameras, to GPS navigators, to standalone accessibility devices.

蘋果手機壟斷高端市場

[19]憑借其專有技術(shù)，蘋果設(shè)計和銷售的終極高端蘋果手機在全球平均售價一直在650美元左右，使用安卓系統(tǒng)的智能手機平均售價接近200美元，這使得多數(shù)手機生產(chǎn)商幾乎無利可圖。

iPhone monopolizes17 monopolize 獨占，壟斷；擁有專賣權(quán)。 the premium market

[19] Leveraging its access to advanced proprietary technology, Apple designs and sells ultra premium iPhones with an Average Selling Price consistently near $650. Commodity Android smartphones have an ASP18=average selling price平均售價。that’s now close to $200, making them barely profitable for most manufacturers.

[20]三星是唯一一家智能手機銷量超過蘋果的公司，但是三星所售的大部分手機定位為中低端機型，并不能讓三星獲取很大利潤。因此，盡管三星手機銷量近蘋果兩倍，其手機零部件也大多自行設(shè)計生產(chǎn)，盈利也只是蘋果的一小部分。

2014年，蘋果推出了最新款高端機型6 Plus，導致三星高端平板手機的銷量慘淡。

[20] The only company selling more smartphones than Apple is Samsung, but the majority of the phones it sells are low or middle tier models that don’t make much money. As a result, despite selling around twice as many units, Samsung earns a fraction of the pro fi ts Apple does, even though Samsung sources much of its own components internally.

In 2014, Apple released iPhone 6 Plus as a new premium tier model, devastating19dev-astate毀滅；毀壞。the high end of Samsung’s phablet phone sales.

蘋果手機的下一步是什么？

[21]在蘋果手機與其競爭公司的十年銷量戰(zhàn)爭后，蘋果在擴大研發(fā)和收購目標方面取得了令人羨慕的優(yōu)勢地位，能與之直接抗衡的對手也極其有限。它的老對手微軟現(xiàn)在是蘋果iOS應(yīng)用的積極合作伙伴。

What’s next for iPhone

[21] After ten years of defending itsiPhone sales from competitive threats, Apple is in the enviable position of expanding its R&D and acquisition targets while facing sharply limited direct competition. Its old platform rival Microsoft is now an enthusiastic iOS apps partner.

[22]但是，蘋果公司也明顯感到了來自內(nèi)部的威脅。西方市場對智能手機的需求已經(jīng)近乎飽和，而在一些新興市場，低端手機有可能會瓦解大眾市場對高端智能手機的需求。

[22] However, Apple clearly faces threats of its own. Demand for smartphones has largely peaked in the West, and in many other emerging markets there are low end offerings that potentially threaten to disrupt20disrupt 破壞；使瓦解。mass market demand for premium smartphones.

[23]蘋果公司未來很有可能要革新手機外形設(shè)計來適應(yīng)科技發(fā)展中用戶的需求變化。當人們越來越青睞大屏手機時，可穿戴手機或者大量可穿戴設(shè)備可能會在未來某一天取代現(xiàn)在的智能手機。

[23] It could be that in the future, Apple may need to reinvent the iPhone into a new form factor to match the demands of users as technology shifts. While buyers currently appear to be trending toward phones with larger screens, it could be that wearables―or multiple wearable devices―could someday take the place of today’s smartphone.

[24]過去十年中，蘋果已將手機改裝為兩款其他產(chǎn)品，先是iPod touch，然后是大一點的iPad，這種尺寸較大的iPad操作更簡單，移動性也更強，能夠承擔許多傳統(tǒng)電腦才能完成的任務(wù)。和手機一樣，iPad也完全占據(jù)了平板電腦的高端市場，獲取了大部分利潤。

[24] Over the last decade, Apple has already remodeled the iPhone into two other products: first iPod touch, then a larger iPad capable of assuming many of the tasks of conventional PCs with less complication21complication 混亂；錯雜。and greater mobility. Like iPhones, iPads have completely dominated the premium market for tablets and taken most of the available pro fi ts.

[25]為制造手機而研發(fā)的技術(shù)也已逐漸應(yīng)用于蘋果電腦，并已用于研發(fā)蘋果電視和蘋果手表等新產(chǎn)品。

[25] Technology developed for iPhone has also made its way into Apple’sMacs, and has been used to develop new products such as Apple TV and Apple Watch.

[26]就算人們對手機規(guī)格和外形的需求沒有重大改變，蘋果手機也會向更加復雜的方向發(fā)展，會配置新的傳感器、攝像頭、顯示屏、越來越好的無線網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)置和以新方式進行交流、采集、生產(chǎn)與消費內(nèi)容和信息的新型軟件。 □

[26] Even without a major shift in demand for new form factors and shapes, iPhones will also continue to get more sophisticated, with new sensors, cameras, displays, incrementally22incrementally 逐漸地。better wireless networking, and new software features for communicating, capturing, creating and consuming content and information in new ways.

Ten Years of iPhone: Past, Present and Future

ByDaniel Eran Dilger

（譯者單位：北京航空航天大學外國語學院）