流言也成大麻煩 蘋果遇上iPhone 8“難題”

上周二，蘋果公司公布第二財季財報。讓分析師和股東大跌眼鏡的是，iPhone當季的銷量同比下跌1%，降至5080萬部。盡管如此，由于平均售價提高，iPhone為蘋果帶來的營業收入還同比小幅增長1%，增至3320萬美元?？傊?，iPhone產品線的業績低于市場預期。

乍一看，iPhone市場略顯疲軟，可能令人擔心競爭過于激烈。而蘋果表示，iPhone用戶一直很忠實，只是近來關于新款iPhone的流言過多影響購買。

在蘋果財報發布后的電話會議上，蘋果的首席執行官蒂姆?庫克解釋稱：“我們發現iPhone購買出現停滯，相信原因是之前反復出現很多關于新款iPhone的報道?！?/p>

過去幾個月，有關蘋果計劃對iPhone 版本升級的流言甚囂塵上。傳聞稱，今年蘋果可能發布三款新機型，其中兩款是對iPhone 7和iPhone 7Plus略有更新的iPhone 7s和iPhone 7s Plus。第三款手機最吸引眼球，傳言稱之為iPhone 8、iPhone X或是iPhone Edition，據稱該款將在去年款的iPhone基礎上重大升級。

對可能命名為iPhone 8的最新款手機，蘋果方面未置評。據一些傳聞報道曝光，iPhone 8可能采用曲面屏幕設計，屏幕內嵌Touch ID指紋傳感器，可能會支持無線充電。

和蘋果可能推出的兩款iPhone 7s相比，iPhone 8可能大幅提振需求，因為按慣例7s產品線通常只會小幅更新設計和零部件。

在本周二致投資者的報告中，BMO分析師湯姆?龍表示，他認同庫克所說，iPhone銷售“近來下滑的原因可能是早前對新款iPhone的報道太多?！彼€預計，只要新款iPhone今年晚些時候如期推出，近期銷售的問題就不會影響iPhone的需求。

然而，蘋果還得再撐幾個季度。新款iPhone將至，相關流言只會愈演愈烈。只要消費者都相信，應該多等些時候買有重大升級的新款iPhone，蘋果就幾乎沒辦法吸引他們關注市面上的iPhone。其實iPhone 7和iPhone 7Plus都很不錯，可消費者顯然更愿意買新款。

蘋果并未確認籌劃推出iPhone 8，最近一些報道卻披露了iPhone 8可能具有的新特色，比如運用新技術有機發光二極體（OLED）的屏幕，但新技術可能導致iPhone 8的上市日期推遲。也許iPhone 8的發布日會從往年的9月延至10月，甚至11月。消費者還可能會嚇到：功能更先進的iPhone 8售價可能要漲到1000美元左右。

蘋果承認iPhone出現購買停滯也體現出傳言纏身的升級版iPhone需求可能相當大。熱切期待新款iPhone的消費者可能已經準備好排長隊購買，或者一推出就立刻上網預訂。

說這么多，前提是真有iPhone 8。（財富中文網）

翻譯：Pessy

審稿：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.