Has Apple Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew? / 苹果超负荷了吗？

Apple are one the leading giants of the corporate world. Founded back in April 1967 by a team of three included the pioneering Mr. Steve Jobs himself, Apple have been breaking records ever since. Now totalling a market cap of over $650 billion, online devices currently employing Apple technology is around the 1 billion mark. Very impressive stats, to say the least. With future plans to increase its product portfolio in an attempt to corner the market on electric, self-driving cars, Apple can only keep on going from strength to strength. Surely, right? 

苹果公司是一个世界领先的企业巨头。它是由包括史蒂夫·乔布斯在内的三人小组于1967年4月成立的，从那开始，苹果的销量就一直在同行中占领先地位。现在的苹果公司总计超过650亿美金的市值，目前有一亿苹果产品连接着网络，这些都是非常棒的统计数据。苹果公司未来的计划是扩大产品范围，专注电器市场和无人驾驶汽车等，苹果会继续不断壮大。这是理所当然的，对吧？ 

Well, I remember way back in 2011, when purchasing the iPhone 4s and thinking this was the single greatest electronic device I had ever seen. Slick, well built and a GUI to die for. However, with my friends at the time, we discussed about the possibilities of where Apple go from here? The 4s was such a "complete" package at the time, we just couldn't foresee the next original step in innovation. After all, most users still to this day either just surf the net, use social media or text. Apart from making calls of course, lol.  

我还记得，早在2011年我购买了一台iPhone 4S，认为这是我所见过的最好的电子设备。手机设计美观，精心打造，加上界面简直是完美。当时我还在和朋友讨论苹果在这基础上还能如何发展？因为4S 已经是这么一个完美包装，我们无法想象它的下一步创新。 

So, fast forward to the present and now the iPhone 7 is about to be released in a few days’ time. However, already negativity in the press and media is rife, similar to the previous few years. Not only about the iPhone but Apple itself. Is this just another example of media outlets jumping on the "Anti-Apple" bandwagon of expected hatred or is there any truth behind these articles? Here are my thoughts on this. 

而如今，新产品iPhone 7 将在几天之内上市。但与前几年一样，舆论传媒已经有很多消极的评论，不仅是对iPhone，也针对苹果这个品牌。难道这些负面新闻只是基于同行妒忌的“反苹果”运动，还是这里面有或多或少的真相呢？下面是我个人的一些想法。 

---

The Pioneers of Our Time / 我们时代的开拓者 

It's a simple and straight forward fact, Apple reinvented the wheel when it came to mobile phones. The 3G and 3GS were revolutionary. Key features being Internet browsing, crisp screen resolution and intuitive GPS capabilities to name but a few. It was like you literally were carrying a mini computer in your pocket.  

苹果对手机事业的贡献是不容置疑的，这是事实。它的3G和3GS是重大的改革，主要功能是上网浏览，清晰高分辨率的屏幕和直观的界面功能等等。带着苹果手机，就如在口袋里装着一部迷你小电脑一样。 

However, I do feel simply in terms of year on year evolution, the iPhone 4s still was the pinnacle for one of Apples most cherished brands. Build quality was leaps and bounds better than the 3GS, featuring very slick aesthetics and the (back then) best GUI experience you could get. To this day, I still think this phone was the defining moment for iPhone. So how has the iPhone faired in terms of progression apart from its core functionality since then? 

但是，我觉得随着每年手机的不断发展演变，iPhone 4S仍然是苹果的巅峰之作。手机质量在3GS的基础上更是突飞猛进，设计流畅美观，而界面更是当时手机当中最出众的。直到今天，我仍然认为iPhone 4S 的上市对苹果品牌占领市场起了决定性的作用。那么为什么自此之后iPhone没能在功能方面有更大的突破呢？ 

(The iPhone 4s)

---

The Apple Apps Ecosystem /苹果应用程序生态系统 

The Apple ecosystem could be viewed as Apples biggest strength as well as its biggest flaw. Because Apple run such a strict, hands-on approach for which apps they decide to implement, this could be seen as monopolising development. iTunes, imposing DRM restrictions, taxation and full rights over third party apps handed over to Apple. These factors combined produce a closed network bound by Apple law.  

苹果的生态系统可以看作是苹果最大的优势，同时也是其最大的缺陷。由于苹果很严谨地选择采用那些应用程序，这可被视为垄断发展。iTunes使用数字版权管理，第三方必须向苹果交税以及提交使用权。这些因素促成了一个受苹果法律约束的封闭式网络。 

The flip side of that coin is that fans of Apple view this as a good thing. Controlled measures over what goes into and out of the App Store, certain standards being met ensuring quality software releases and having almost no software compatibility issues are all big pluses for Apple.  

从另一面来看，苹果支持者会认为这是一件好事。严格控制进入和退出系统的应用程序，按标准控制软件质量以保证其不产生软件兼容性问题，这些对苹果是一个优势。 

Your view on this very much depends on what side of the fence you sit, but there are a few other issues that could be seen as a little more cut and dry. 

对这个观点的看法其实很大程度上取决于你支持那一方，但接下来的几个问题更具有争议性。 

---

The Price / 价格 

It is expected at the get go that when a new Apple device is launched, you will have to pay a premium for it. From Apple's point of view, "what you pay is what you get" (WYPIWYG). However, I feel the iPhone of today is a very different beast from the iPhone of yesteryear.  

当一个新的苹果产品上市时，你会支付昂高的价格。从苹果的角度看，就是你付出了多少就会得到多少。然而今天的iPhone与昔日的iPhone并不可以一视同仁。 

Now we have much more competition, especially from Chinese companies producing such high quality smartphones. Huawei, Xiaomi and the "Oneplus" series all stand as good candidates. They offer features and specs equal to or even exceeding Apple's for literally a fraction of the price. For example, I personally love the SD card extension capabilities as well as the dual sim feature some models incorporate. Apple has yet to implement either.  

我们现在有了更多的市场竞争，尤其是来自中国企业的众多高品质的手机。Huawei, Xiaomi 和 "Oneplus"系列都是较好的选择。它们提供的手机功能和配件都不差于，有的甚至超越苹果，而价格确是苹果手机的一小部分。我个人喜欢他们的内设SD卡结构，以及双卡功能。这些都是苹果手机目前尚未实现的。 

So how much bang for your buck do you get from Apple? Well, the iPhone 7 will retail at £700 for a 128gb version whereas the latest Oneplus 3 will cost around £365. Almost half the price and the Oneplus has expandable memory and dual sim. Even if you take into account other differences between these phones such as camera quality, robustness or comparable GUI's, I believe it's still quite a hefty price increase we are expected to pay. Many have defected from Apple on the rationale that they insist on keeping the price of their products too high for implementing arguably less features? 

在付出了昂贵的价格以后，你相应得到了什么呢？iphone7内存64GB的版本将零售为£700，对比之下，最新的Oneplus3售价为£365。Oneplus具有SD卡内存和双卡功能而价格只是苹果的一半。即使我们考虑到其它因素，例如相机质量和耐用性更高些，或是界面更清晰，都很难解释差价之大。许多消费者最终放弃了苹果手机，就是因为以上原因。 

---

The Latest and Greatest / 最新的和最好的 

Apple employs a business model of releasing two new smartphones per year. The annual flagship launch of their new model of iPhone and the incremental "s" update about six months later. While all well and good, the enhancements between each successive iPhone released seem to be getting less and less as time goes by. While the latest trends in technology such as pressure sensitive buttons and water resistance features are impressive in their own right, in terms of pure core functionality and day to day use, these may be considered tacked on gimmicks adding little extra value to the phone itself.  

苹果公司推出每年两个手机升级的商业模式。一年一度推出新款iPhone为主产品，而紧跟其后的“s”为更新版本。虽然一切看起来都很好，但随着时间的推移，我们发现所谓的更新似乎越来越少。虽然一些根据最新趋势的虚拟现实的应用程序和耐水性功能还算不错，但在纯功能性和日常使用而言，这些只是增加手机额外价值的小噱头。 

It must be said, the iPhone itself is actually a very well built, durable and solid device. My iPhone 4 and 4s still work perfectly to this day. Ironically, the fact that they are so robust could be seen as a problem for Apple as the need to upgrade to the latest iPhone very year is becoming more a brand orientated decision rather than one based on functional improvements. Will users keep upgrading regularly given the substantial price tags at launch while offering similar features for both the flagship and "s" models of previous years? 

但必须说iPhone本身是一个精心打造，坚固耐用的电子器件。我的iPhone4和4S到今天仍然运作正常。质量持久耐用也可看作是品牌的不利之处，因为不需要经常更新。而选择更新也不是因为改善功能，而是忠心于品牌的追求。每年两次的iPhone更新在功能上并没有多大的改善，加上新产品定位如此高的情况下，用户还能追随苹果品牌多久呢？ 

---

Compatibility For None / 无兼容性 

One final point is Apple's practice of changing their phones design to force their consumers into buying extra Apple based accessories. They are all Apple proprietary therefore cannot be for anything else apart from their ecosystem. It’s like Apple wants to tether customers to themselves and if it means those users shelling out more for unique, expensive accessories then so be it.  

我的最后一点看法就是苹果蓄意改变手机设计来强迫用户购买苹果专用的手机配件。这些配件都是苹果专利，在其生态系统以外无法使用。苹果希望用户花更多的钱来购买这些专用配件，已达到把用户留在自己的生态系统里。 

For example, the new iPhone 7 will not feature a standard headphone jack, instead now requiring an extra adapter. What was wrong with just a standard headphone jack that has been working perfectly all this time and can be bought universally everywhere? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?  

例如，新的iPhone7将不设有通用耳机插孔，而需要购买一个额外的适配器。真不明白为什么我们不能使用自己拥有并可随处可购的普通耳机呢？ 

Even back when I purchased the iPhone 4s, I remember I had to buy another phone case accessory as they had discreetly raised the position of the slider button on the side rendering my old iPhone 4 case useless. For long term and loyal existing consumers, why employ unfair means to withdraw more money from its users? Especially given the price of the phones and accessories in the first place? 

在我当年购买iPhone 4S的时候，由于苹果在iPhone 4的基础上稍微调整了左侧滑块按钮的位置，我不得不重新购买一些新的手机配件。对于长期忠于苹果的消费者，我觉得使用这样手法向用户收取额外费用并不公平，尤其是这些配件成本其实很低。  

---

The Rise of the Competitors / 竞争者的崛起 

The iPhone 7 is now days from being released to the general public and die-hard fans have already started queuing up to be one of the first to get their hands on the latest handset. Apple will no doubt always have a huge following, but I feel that there is now a certain level of issues brewing with each new release of their phones.  

iPhone7几天之内就会推出市场，苹果爱好者早已开始排队等着抢购新款手机。毫无疑问，苹果有着庞大的追随者，但我觉得他们现在每推出的新手机都有一定程度的自满。 

Innovation seems to be lacking somewhat and it does make me wonder when the next new "must have" feature will arrive. Much longer battery life perhaps? Who knows. But I suppose that could be said for smartphones in general. Functionality seems to have plateaued across the board and unless you just want to have an aesthetic or brand change, it's very likely you could keep your existing phone for years to come and be perfectly satisfied with its performance. 

创新似乎有所欠缺，这让我疑惑到底什么时候才会出现下一个让人兴奋，必须拥有的新功能呢？谁知道呢，可能是更长的电池使用时间吧？但我想对于一般的智能手机都可以这么说。手机功能似乎已经趋向稳定，除非你想有外型设计或品牌的转变，不然你可以保持现有的手机几年不用换都还觉得满意。 

The difference is that Apple are the original innovators and their benchmark of quality and design arguably receive much more attention than all other competition out there. In addition, smartphone choices is now in serious abundance and the old bug-filled, screen-freezing Android GUI of old is now a distant memory. Of course, Apple isn't anywhere near failure and they will always have a loyal fan base who just have to view the famous Apple brand logo to be sold, but it's also plain to see that especially within the last few years of media publicity and public reception, the cracks are beginning to show.  

所不同的是，苹果是原始创新者和他们的质量和设计可以说是得到比其他竞争对手都更多的关注。此外，如今手机的选择可是非常丰富。当然，苹果离失败还很遥远，因为他们总有一群忠实的拥护者只要看到著名的苹果标志就毫不犹豫地出手。但我们也清楚地看到，特别是在最近几年媒体宣传和公众议论，裂缝开始出现。  

(Sources: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)