VOA慢速英語：真相大白：蘋果公司承認讓一些老款iPhone手機變慢

Mystery Solved: Apple Admits it Slows Some Older iPhones

真相大白：蘋果公司承認讓一些老款iPhone手機變慢

Many people have long believed Apple intentionally slows down performance of iPhones in an effort to get users to buy new ones.

很多人早就認為蘋果公司為了讓用戶購買新的手機，故意拖慢iPhone手機的性能。

For the first time, Apple has admitted to slowing some iPhones down. But the company explained it only took the action last year to prevent battery-related shutdowns.

蘋果公司首次承認減緩了一些蘋果手機的運行速度。但是該公司解釋說，只有去年為了防止電池導致意外關機才采取了這一措施。

Apple's action – and the company's decision to keep it secret - led to widespread criticism from industry analysts and iPhone owners.

蘋果公司的行為以及對此保密的決定引起了行業(yè)分析師和iPhone用戶的廣泛批評。

Owners of iPhones in several states are suing Apple. They accuse Apple of violating fraud laws by purposely limiting performance without informing iPhone owners that the problems might have been fixed by replacing the device battery. This, they argue, forced them to spend more money to buy new iPhones.

美國幾個州的iPhone用戶正在起訴蘋果公司。他們指控蘋果公司故意限制iPhone手機性能，而不告知用戶可以通過更換電池來解決這一問題，這違反了反欺詐法。他們認為，這迫使他們花了更多錢購買新的iPhone手機。

The issue of iPhone slowdowns in certain phones was recently noted in an online post by the founder of software maker Primate Labs. In his post, John Poole cited test results suggesting repeated reductions in iPhone performance over time.

某些蘋果手機變慢的問題是軟件制造商“靈長實驗室”(Primate Labs)創(chuàng)始人最近在一篇網(wǎng)文中爆出來的。約翰·普爾(John Poole)在這篇網(wǎng)文中例舉的測試結果表明，iPhone手機隨著使用時間增加其性能會不斷下降。

The tests included the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7, with several different operating system versions. Results of the tests blamed aging batteries for causing the reduced device performance.

測試的手機包括安裝了不同版本操作系統(tǒng)的iPhone 6S和iPhone 7。測試結果將設備性能下降歸咎于電池老化。

Poole said his company's software that measures processor performance found that some users who replaced their iPhone batteries reported much improved results.

普爾稱他公司開發(fā)用于檢測處理器性能的軟件發(fā)現(xiàn)，一些更換了電池的iPhone用戶報告其手機性能有所改善。

But he was not convinced that old batteries were the whole problem. He came up with a theory. He believed Apple must have made changes to the iOS software to limit iPhone performance when battery capacity reached a certain point.

但是他不相信舊電池就是全部問題所在。他提出了一項理論，他認為蘋果公司肯定對iOS軟件動了手腳，以便在iPhone手機的電池容量達到某個數(shù)值時限制手機性能。

A few days later, Apple released a statement admitting it made the software change. It said the action was needed to prevent certain devices from suddenly shutting down.

幾天后，蘋果公司發(fā)表聲明承認對軟件做了變動。該公司表示，此舉是為了防止某些設備突然關機。

The problem, Apple said, was connected to lithium-ion batteries inside the iPhone. The batteries can fail in certain conditions – such as hot or cold - or as they age over time. This can sometimes cause older iPhones to shut down, Apple said.

蘋果公司表示，這個問題跟iPhone內(nèi)部的鋰電池有關。這種電池可能會在某些情況下發(fā)生故障，例如熱和冷的情況下，或是電池隨著時間推移老化而發(fā)生故障。蘋果公司表示，這可能會導致一些老舊的iPhone手機關機。

Apple said it released the new feature last year for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE. It later added the iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2 and plans "to add support for other products" in the future.

蘋果公司表示，該公司去年針對iPhone 6、iPhone 6S和iPhone SE手機發(fā)布了這一新功能，隨后又加上了安裝iOS 11.2系統(tǒng)的iPhone 7 手機，并計劃加入對未來其它產(chǎn)品的支持。

"Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices," the Apple statement said.

蘋果公司發(fā)表的聲明稱：“我們的目標是為用戶提供最好的體驗，其中包括整體性能和延長其設備的使用壽命。”

But many iPhone owners were not very forgiving of Apple's decision, as evidenced on Twitter:

但是很多iPhone手機用戶對蘋果公司的這一決定并不買賬，正如推特上所展示的那樣：

In his reporting of the latest developments, Wired magazine's Jordan McMahon pointed out several ways Apple could have handled the situation before deciding to secretly slow the phones.

連線雜志的喬丹·麥克馬洪(Jordan McMahon)在報道最新動態(tài)時指出，蘋果公司在決定偷偷減慢手機速度之前，可以采取多種方式來處理這種情況。

He suggested Apple could have informed iPhone owners about the lithium-ion issues beforehand and given them a chance to get the batteries replaced. Or the company could have even launched a program to sell owners battery replacement kits.

他提出蘋果公司可以事先告知iPhone手機用戶關于鋰電池的問題，讓他們有機會更換電池?；蛘咴摴旧踔量梢酝瞥鲆粋€計劃，向用戶出售電池更換套件。

Apple has always strongly resisted having owners buy and replace their own iPhone batteries. There are many companies that sell do-it-yourself kits or will do the service for you.

蘋果公司一直強烈反對讓用戶購買和更換自己iPhone的電池。有多家公司出售自助更換電池套件，或者向用戶提供更換電池的服務。

Apple has its own battery replacement service – either in Apple stores or through the mail - and charges $79 for any iPhone model that is no longer under warranty.

蘋果公司自身也提供電池更換服務，無論是在蘋果商店還是通過郵件都可以實現(xiàn)，并對任何保修過期的iPhone型號收取79美元的費用。

But based on the huge negative reaction to Apple's change, it seems many people are not aware of that possibility. They have complained about being forced to either buy a new, expensive iPhone, or switch brands to fix the problem.

但是根據(jù)人們對蘋果公司這一變動的巨大負面反應來看，似乎很多人都沒有意識到更換電池的這種可能性。他們抱怨被迫要么購買了昂貴的新iPhone手機，要么換了其它品牌手機來解決問題。

Several economic analysts have lowered predictions for 2018 shipments of the iPhone X as some news reports also suggested there will be much lower demand. Taiwan's Economic Daily reported Monday that Apple could cut its sales targets for the iPhone X in the first quarter from 50 million to 30 million.

一些經(jīng)濟分析師已經(jīng)下調(diào)了對2018年iPhone X手機出貨量的預測，一些新聞報道也暗示需求將會降低。中國臺灣的《經(jīng)濟日報》周一報道稱，蘋果公司可能會將2018年第一季度iPhone X的銷售目標從5千萬臺降至3千萬臺。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布萊恩·林恩報道。