科技前沿:消息人士曝9月10日新iPhone發佈

Apple is expected to unveil its next iPhone at a special event on Sept. 10, sources told AllThingsD.

多位消息人士對《華爾街日報》“AllThingsD”欄目說，預計蘋果公司(Apple)將在9月10日舉行的一個特別活動中發佈新款iPhone。

The launch comes at an important time for Apple, which continues to make a lot of money from the iPhone but has seen its global market share dip amid a growing wave of lower-cost Android devices as well as an intense battle with archrival Samsung.

新款手機的發佈恰逢對蘋果來說一個重要的時刻。iPhone仍很賺錢，但由於價格更低的安卓(Android)設備不斷涌現，以及與主要競爭對手三星(Samsung)之間的激戰，蘋果在全球市場的份額一直在下滑。

One of the key questions is whether Apple adopts a new tactic to address the mid-range of the smartphone market. Historically, Apple has gone after those customers by offering its year-old and two-year-old models for $100 and $200 less than a new iPhone. However, there has been a great deal of talk that the company will debut a new lower-cost iPhone alongside whatever update it has in store for the current iPhone 5.

主要問題之一是，蘋果是否將採取一種新的策略，以便吸引中端智能手機市場的消費者。以往，蘋果上市一年和兩年的機型會比剛推出時分別降價100和200美元，該公司藉此爭取中端市場用戶。不過，據說該公司將推出一款價格更低的新iPhone，將具備目前iPhone 5所擁有的各種功能上的升級。

Much of the speculation there has centered on the usual kinds of camera and processor enhancements, as well as the likelihood of a fingerprint sensor. That has been expected ever since Apple acquired Authentec last year.

外界的猜測主要集中在常見類型的攝像頭和處理器功能增強上，以及可能裝有指紋傳感器。自蘋果去年收購了Authentec以來，外界一直存在這樣的預期。

Naturally, any new phones will be running iOS 7, which has been in testing since its announcement at Apple’s developer conference in June. The new software includes a radical redesign of the overall look of the iPhone’s menus and icons, but the other new features are largely incremental updates, such as improved notifications, better photo-organizing abilities and additional capabilities for developers.

蘋果任何新款手機自然而然都將搭載iOS 7。自6月蘋果開發者大會上發佈了iOS 7以來，該系統一直在測試之中。這款新軟件包括對iPhone菜單和圖標整體外觀的根本性重新設計，但其他的新功能基本都是小幅的升級，比如改進的通知功能，更強的照片管理功能，以及面向開發者的更多功能。

This has become something of a pattern for Apple, which typically debuts its software update at its June developer conference, tests it for a couple months, then shows the new hardware a couple weeks ahead of the new phone’s availability. The iOS update is also available for older models. Apple has already said that iOS 7 will work on many recent iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices.

這對蘋果來說幾乎已經成了一種模式。蘋果通常在6月舉行的開發者大會上發佈軟件升級，然後測試幾個月，在新款手機上市之前幾周發佈新的硬件。iOS 7對老款機型也同樣適用。蘋果已經說，iOS 7將適用於最近推出的很多iPhone、iPad和iPod等觸屏設備。

Apple is also expected to formally launch the next version of Mac OS X, known as Mavericks, in the coming weeks, though that is not expected at the Sept. 10 event.

預計蘋果未來幾周還將正式發佈新款Mac OS X，不過預計不會是在9月10日的活動中發佈。新款Mac OS X被命名爲“Mavericks”（小牛）。

An Apple representative declined to comment on the timing of any upcoming events.

蘋果發言人拒絕就任何即將舉行的活動的時間置評。

Consumers, investors (and reportedly board members as well) have been pressing Apple for a more rapid pace of innovation.

消費者和投資者（據說還有董事會成員）一直敦促蘋果加快創新步伐。

The company has long been rumored to also be working on television and watch projects, though there is no indication either of those are close to debuting.

長期以來，一直有傳言說蘋果也在開發電視和手錶項目，不過沒有跡象顯示這兩種產品接近發佈。