经过多年的高速发展,全球的手机销量在2018年首次出现下跌。这背后的深层次原因是手机市场已经饱和,手机厂商的好日子也一去不复返了。
For smartphones, the party is over
by Mae Anderson
Apple said early this month that demand for iPhones is waning and revenue for the last quarter of 2018 will fall well below projections, a decrease traced mainly to China.
demand /dɪˈmɑːnd/ n. 需求、市场需求
wane /weɪn/ v. 减弱、减少
revenue /ˈrev(ə)njuː/ n. 销售收入、营业额
quarter /ˈkwɔːtə(r)/ n. 季度
well /wel/ adv. 远远(表示强调)
projection /prəˈdʒekʃ(ə)n/ n. 预测值
trace /treɪs/ v. 追溯
And it's not just Apple. Demand has been lackluster across the board, said analyst Dan Ives of research firm Wedbush Securities. Samsung, long the leading seller of smartphones, has been hit even harder, as its phone shipments dropped 8 percent during the 12 months ending in September.
lackluster /ˈlækˌlʌstə(r)/ adj. 有气无力的
across the board 影响所有人地、无一例外地
analyst /ˈænəlɪst/ n. 分析师
Samsung 三星(韩国公司)
leading /ˈliːdɪŋ/ adj. 主要的、首要的
smartphone /ˈsmɑːtfəʊn/ n. 智能手机(由smart和phone组成)
shipment /ˈʃɪpmənt/ n. 出货、出货量
Behind weak smartphone sales lies a more sobering truth: The tech industry has hit Peak Smartphone, a tipping point when everyone who can afford one already owns one and no breakthroughs are compelling them to upgrade as frequently as they once did. Some manufacturers have boosted prices to keep up profit. But Apple's shortfall highlights the limits of that strategy.
sales /seɪlz/ n. 销量
sober /ˈsəʊbə(r)/ v. 使严肃、使冷静
truth /truːθ/ n. 真相
peak /piːk/ n. 顶峰、巅峰
tipping point 临界点、转折点
breakthrough /ˈbreɪkθruː/ n. 突破(由break和through组成)
compel /kəmˈpel/ v. 迫使
upgrade /ʌpˈɡreɪd/ v. 升级(由up和grade组成)
frequently /ˈfriːkw(ə)ntli/ adv. 频繁地(由frequent加后缀-ly变成副词)
manufacturer /ˌmænjuˈfæktʃ(ə)rə(r)/ n. 制造商(由manufacture加上表示人的后缀-er)
boost /buːst/ v. 提高、增加
profit /ˈprɒfɪt/ n. 利润
shortfall /ˈʃɔːtfɔːl/ n. 缺口、差额
highlight /ˈhaɪlaɪt/ v. 突出、凸显
strategy /ˈstrætədʒi/ n. 策略
Tech innovations in phones grew in leaps and bounds earlier in the 2010s, with dramatic improvements in screen size, screen resolution, battery life, cameras and processor speed every year.
innovation /ˌɪnəˈveɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 创新
leap /liːp/ n. 飞跃
bound /baʊnd/ n. 跳跃(in leaps and bounds形容发展速度非常快,也就是“飞速地”)
dramatic /drəˈmætɪk/ adj. 急剧的、显著的
resolution /ˌrezəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ n. 分辨率
battery life 指续航时间,也就是手机在充满一次电以后能用的时间
processor /ˈprəʊsesə(r)/ n. 处理器(由process加上表示人或物的后缀-or)
But the industry is a victim of its own success. Innovation began to slow down around 2014, once Apple boosted the screen size with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models. While phones kept improving, new features tended to be incremental, such as a new flash technique to already excellent phone cameras. It's the stuff consumers won't typically notice – or want to shell out for.
victim /ˈvɪktɪm/ n. 受害者
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ n. 特性、特征
tend /tend/ v. 倾向于
incremental /ˌɪŋkrəˈment(ə)l/ adj. 渐进的、小的
flash /flæʃ/ n. 闪光灯
technique /tekˈniːk/ n. 技术
consumer /kənˈsjuːmə(r)/ n. 消费者
typically /ˈtɪpɪk(ə)li/ adv. 典型地、通常(由typical加后缀-ly变成副词)
shell out 付钱、付高价
"Since the iPhone 6 you've seen it has been tough to innovate to continue to raise the bar," Ives said. Apple customers now upgrade every 33 months on average, longer than the 24 or 25 months three years ago, he said.
tough /tʌf/ adj. 困难的
innovate /ˈɪnəveɪt/ v. 创新
raise the bar 提高标准、提高期望
The fact that even Apple's iPhone juggernaut is suffering cements a larger trend for all major smartphone makers.★ After a steady rise for a decade, worldwide smartphone shipments fell 3 percent to 1.42 billion in 2018, the first annual drop, according to International Data Corp., which tracks such movements. IDC estimates that shipments will rebound 3 percent in 2019 to 1.46 billion, but that still falls short of 2017 levels.
juggernaut /ˈdʒʌɡənɔːt/ n. 重型卡车(引申为难以阻止的强大力量)
cement /sɪˈment/ v. 巩固
major /ˈmeɪdʒə(r)/ adj. 主要的、大的
★ 这句话里that even Apple's iPhone juggernaut is suffering是同位语从句(类似于定语从句),具体说明之前的fact,句子的主体是The fact cements ...
steady /ˈstedi/ adj. 稳步的
decade /ˈdekeɪd/ n. 十年
worldwide /wɜːldˈwaɪd/ adj. 世界范围的、全世界的(由world和wide组成)
billion /ˈbɪljən/ n. 十亿
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
track /træk/ v. 跟踪、追踪
movement /ˈmuːvmənt/ n. 变化、动态
estimate /ˈestɪmeɪt/ v. 估计、估算
rebound /riːˈbaʊnd/ v. 反弹
short of 不足、达不到
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、数量
IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said the cycle might bottom out and start growing again in 2021 or 2022, when people's current phones start reaching the end of their useful life. "People will still replace their phones. It's going to happen eventually," he said. But there's no "silver bullet" that will spur growth to levels seen in the past when the industry was less mature.
cycle /ˈsaɪk(ə)l/ n. 循环、周期
bottom out 走出底部
current /ˈkʌr(ə)nt/ adj. 现在的
eventually /ɪˈventʃuəli/ adv. 最终
silver bullet 指解决难题的简单方法(类似于汉语里的“灵丹妙药”)
spur /spɜː(r)/ v. 刺激、使加速
growth /ɡrəʊθ/ n. 增长
mature /məˈtʃʊə(r)/ adj. 成熟的
Analysts say smartphone makers need to push into under-saturated areas like Africa and elsewhere, and also sell more services like cloud storage, streaming music and phone software. But the glory days of untrammeled(不受限制的) growth appear to be over.
under- 前缀,意思是“低于”
saturated /ˈsætʃ(ə)reɪtɪd/ adj. 饱和的(under-saturated就是还没有饱和的)
elsewhere /elsˈweə(r)/ pron. 其他地方
service /ˈsɜːvɪs/ n. 服务
storage /ˈstɔːrɪdʒ/ n. 存储
streaming /ˈstriːmɪŋ/ n. 流媒体播放(指不用下载直接联网播放)
glory /ˈɡlɔːri/ n. 荣耀、荣光
(如果您使用的是火狐浏览器,可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了,这是简书系统的Bug,换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。)
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