流言也成大麻烦 苹果遇上iPhone 8“难题”

上周二，苹果公司公布第二财季财报。让分析师和股东大跌眼镜的是，iPhone当季的销量同比下跌1%，降至5080万部。尽管如此，由于平均售价提高，iPhone为苹果带来的营业收入还同比小幅增长1%，增至3320万美元。总之，iPhone产品线的业绩低于市场预期。

乍一看，iPhone市场略显疲软，可能令人担心竞争过于激烈。而苹果表示，iPhone用户一直很忠实，只是近来关于新款iPhone的流言过多影响购买。

在苹果财报发布后的电话会议上，苹果的首席执行官蒂姆•库克解释称：“我们发现iPhone购买出现停滞，相信原因是之前反复出现很多关于新款iPhone的报道。”

过去几个月，有关苹果计划对iPhone 版本升级的流言甚嚣尘上。传闻称，今年苹果可能发布三款新机型，其中两款是对iPhone 7和iPhone 7Plus略有更新的iPhone 7s和iPhone 7s Plus。第三款手机最吸引眼球，传言称之为iPhone 8、iPhone X或是iPhone Edition，据称该款将在去年款的iPhone基础上重大升级。

对可能命名为iPhone 8的最新款手机，苹果方面未置评。据一些传闻报道曝光，iPhone 8可能采用曲面屏幕设计，屏幕内嵌Touch ID指纹传感器，可能会支持无线充电。

和苹果可能推出的两款iPhone 7s相比，iPhone 8可能大幅提振需求，因为按惯例7s产品线通常只会小幅更新设计和零部件。

在本周二致投资者的报告中，BMO分析师汤姆•龙表示，他认同库克所说，iPhone销售“近来下滑的原因可能是早前对新款iPhone的报道太多。”他还预计，只要新款iPhone今年晚些时候如期推出，近期销售的问题就不会影响iPhone的需求。

然而，苹果还得再撑几个季度。新款iPhone将至，相关流言只会愈演愈烈。只要消费者都相信，应该多等些时候买有重大升级的新款iPhone，苹果就几乎没办法吸引他们关注市面上的iPhone。其实iPhone 7和iPhone 7Plus都很不错，可消费者显然更愿意买新款。

苹果并未确认筹划推出iPhone 8，最近一些报道却披露了iPhone 8可能具有的新特色，比如运用新技术有机发光二极体（OLED）的屏幕，但新技术可能导致iPhone 8的上市日期推迟。也许iPhone 8的发布日会从往年的9月延至10月，甚至11月。消费者还可能会吓到：功能更先进的iPhone 8售价可能要涨到1000美元左右。

苹果承认iPhone出现购买停滞也体现出传言缠身的升级版iPhone需求可能相当大。热切期待新款iPhone的消费者可能已经准备好排长队购买，或者一推出就立刻上网预订。

说这么多，前提是真有iPhone 8。（财富中文网）

翻译：Pessy

审稿：夏林

Apple on Tuesday announced its fiscal second-quarter earnings. And much to the surprise of analysts and shareholders, the company's iPhone unit saw unit sales slip 1% year over year to 50.8 million. Apple's iPhone revenue was up by just 1% to $33.2 billion, thanks to a higher average sales price. The iPhone division's performance was below consensus.

At first blush, it might appear as though there's softness in the iPhone market or perhaps some concern with stiff competition. But Apple says iPhone customers remain committed to the company and are simply responding to a recent surge in iPhone rumors.

"We're seeing what we believe to be a pause in purchases on iPhone, which we believe are due to the earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones," Apple CEO Tim Cook said during his company's earnings call on Tuesday.

Over the last few months, rumors have been flying about Apple's reported plans for a future iPhone update. Those rumors suggest Apple (aapl, -0.74%) could release three new handsets this year—including two minor updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus—called iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus. A third model—which is catching all the attention—could be known as the iPhone 8, iPhone X, or iPhone Edition, and come with major updates over last year's models.

While Apple hasn't commented on what its iPhone 8, the placeholder name generally used for the handset, might look like, a slew of reports suggest it could come with a curved screen, a display that nearly entirely covers the handset's face, and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor baked into the screen. The iPhone 8 could also support wireless charging.

Compared to what Apple is expected to offer in the iPhone 7s line—small updates to the design and components—the iPhone 8 could attract significant demand.

In a note to investors on Tuesday, BMO analyst Tim Long said that he agrees with Cook that "earlier and more frequent rumors may be behind the current slowdown" in iPhone sales. He added that the recent sales troubles won't affect iPhone demand when the handsets are expected to be released later this year.

Still, Apple will need to weather the next couple of quarters. As new iPhones near, rumors surrounding them only intensify. And it'll be nearly impossible for Apple to distract customers and attract them to existing iPhones when they ostensibly believe it makes sense to wait until later this year and get a big new update. As nice as the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus might be, customers apparently believe they'd rather have whatever might be coming next.

However, Apple hasn't confirmed that it's planning an iPhone 8. Some recent reports have suggested advances that the handset could offer, including a new screen technology called organic light-emitting diode (OLED), which could be pushing its manufacturing schedule back. And it's possible that the iPhone 8 could be delayed from a typical September launch date to October or even November. Customers might also get some sticker shock: the advanced features could push the iPhone 8's price to around $1,000.

Apple's acknowledgment of iPhone user behavior also suggests demand for the company's rumored iPhone update could be exceedingly high. Those interested in getting the handset, then, should be ready to wait in long lines and move quickly on the pre-order button.

That is, if the iPhone 8 even exists.