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Business: The future of Apple Shake it off
商業：蘋果的未來，擺脫窘境
The world’s most valuable company needs another mega hit.
世界市值最高的公司現需另一款爆款產品。
“Our product pipeline has amazing innovations in store,” Tim Cook, the boss of Apple, declared on April 26th.
4月26日，蘋果首席執行官蒂姆·庫克公開聲稱：“我們的產品線上即將有重大創新”。
He hoped to sound reassuring after the company reported its first year-on-year quarterly revenue decline since 2003.
自2003年以來，該公司公布的同比一季度財政收入首次出現下滑后，蒂姆·庫克希望這番話能安撫人心。
But he was not convincing enough.
但他此番話難以服眾。
Shares of Apple fell by around 8% in the hours after its results emerged, erasing more than $46 billion in market value.
結果公布后的幾個小時，蘋果股份暴跌了近8個百分點，市值蒸發多達460億美元。
Investors’ immediate concern is the popularity of the iPhone.
投資者最為關心的是iPhone的暢銷程度。
It accounts for the bulk of Apple’s revenues and profits; sales were 18% lower than a year ago.
它是蘋果公司財政收入及利潤的主要來源，銷售額與去年同期相比降低了18%。
The broader smartphone market is sluggish, says Mr Cook.
庫克先生稱，整個智能手機大市場現今疲軟萎靡。
Apple hopes that the flashy new features of the iPhone 7, which it is expected to introduce in September, will convince customers to abandon older models.
蘋果指望iPhone7手機全新閃耀的功能將說服顧客放棄舊機型，該手機預計九月推出。
Until then, the company will probably face a further fall in revenue.
但在此之前，公司將極有可能面臨財政收入的進一步下挫。
The bigger question that Mr Cook must answer is whether Apple will ever have another product as successful as the iPhone, the most lucrative in the technology business to date.
庫克先生必須要回答的一個更大的問題是：未來蘋果公司是否能再推出一款像iPhone一樣成功的產品，iPhone是科技產業迄今為止利潤最豐厚的產品。
Enthusiasm has waned for some of its other older products, such as iPads, and its newer ones remain niche offerings.
一些顧客對蘋果其他老款產品的熱情已漸漸減弱，各機型的iPad便是其中一例，并且其新款產品維持在一些專營市場發售。
The Apple Watch celebrated its first full year on the market on April 24th.
4月24日是蘋果手表發行上市整一周年的紀念日。
It sold more in its first year than the iPhone did in 2007.
相較2007年第一代iPhone的上市首年度銷量，它的銷售額更高。
But today’s consumers are better primed to buy gadgets now than they were then; watch sales should be far higher.
然而現在的消費者應該遠比之前更傾向于購置科技產品，手表銷量本該遠超目前的業績。
The cost of the Apple Watch—which starts at $300—puts people off.
蘋果手表以300美元開售的價格讓很多人望而卻步。
So does its dependence on a smartphone for most activities, such as providing directions.
蘋果手表在提供導航等大多數功能操作上仍需依賴智能手機，這也是顧客不愿購買的原因。
The firm will sell a mere 8m watches in 2016, generating $4 billion in sales, thinks Toni Sacconaghi of Sanford C.Bernstein, a research firm.
桑福德·伯恩斯坦研究公司的分析師托尼·薩科納吉認為，蘋果公司2016年僅能售出800萬只蘋果手表，銷售額為40億美元。
One bright spot is Apple’s services business, which is expected to grow steadily.
蘋果的服務業務是其一大亮點，服務業務預計發展穩定。
As it sells more gadgets—over 1 billion devices are in use—it can also sell content and services, and gain revenue from music, its app store and more.
現今有超過十億的終端正在使用蘋果產品，由于蘋果賣出的產品越來越多，它同時也可以出售更多服務業務及服務內容，在音樂服務，應用商店以及更多領域中獲得收益。
In the second quarter Apple had $6 billion in services revenues, more than for Macs or iPads.
在第二季度，蘋果在服務業務上營收多達60億美元，這是Mac或iPad各種機型所難以企及的數字。
What else could the firm come up with?
蘋果公司還能推出哪些新產品呢？
That Apple has been working on an electric car is one of the worst-kept secrets in the technology business.
蘋果研發電動車是科技領域人盡皆知的秘密。
Reported disagreements with German carmakers over control of users’ data may have halted a potential alliance.
據報導，蘋果公司與德國汽車商在用戶數據管理的問題上出現分歧，可能已經導致中止了倆家公司之間可能存在的合作關系。
Many also expected Apple to disrupt television.
許多人認為蘋果會攪亂電視領域。
But Apple TV, the firm’s alternative to a set-top box and subscription, sells most shows and films à la carte, which becomes expensive very quickly. Its appeal is limited.
但作為蘋果公司替代機頂盒以及訂閱付費的一款產品，蘋果電視以點單的方式對大多數節目及電影收費，很快會產生昂貴的費用，因而影響力也有限。
The problem, says James McQuivey of Forrester, another research firm, is that it will be difficult for Apple to come up with another single product as central to daily routines as the iPhone.
另一家研究公司福雷斯特的分析師，詹姆斯·麥克奎維則表示：問題的實質在于蘋果很難再推出一款像iPhone般在日常生活舉足輕重的單品。
Collections of devices in connected homes will matter more instead.
智能家居設備將轉而變得越來越重要。
The exception may be augmented reality, but Apple’s rivals already appear to be ahead.
雖然增強現實技術可能是個例外，但是蘋果的競爭對手似乎已在這方面取得領先。
Apple’s biggest problem is its past success.
蘋果最大的問題在于其輝煌的過去。
It is the most valuable company in the world by market capitalisation because investors believe the firm can make new technologies popular.
從市場資本來說，蘋果是世界市值最高的公司，因為投資者相信這家公司能讓新科技流行起來。
Mr Cook, who took over as chief executive in 2011, soon before the death of the firm’s co-founder, Steve Jobs, has led Apple competently.
2011年，在蘋果公司聯合創始人史蒂夫·喬布斯逝世前不久，庫克先生接任首席執行官一職，他出色地領導著蘋果公司。
But there are lingering doubts about whether he can produce the sort of smash for which Jobs was so feted.
但是，人們依然心存疑慮，他究竟是否能推出一款當初令喬布斯那樣名聲大噪受歡迎的產品。
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