苹果手机销量减少，但利润却在增加

Apple sold slightly fewer iPhones in the final months of 2017 than it did the year before, but higher prices compensated for the dip.

2017年的最后几个月，苹果手机销量略低于去年，但价格上涨弥补了这一跌幅。

The firm reported a record $20bn (14bn pounds) in quarterly profits, driven by strong growth in Japan and Europe.

受日本和欧洲经济强劲增长的推动，该公司季度利润达200亿美元(约140亿英镑)，打破纪录。

The results, released on Thursday, were the first to provide a glimpse of sales of the firm’s expensive iPhone X.

周四发布的这一结果首次让人们了解到该公司昂贵的iPhone X的销售情况。

Apple boss Tim Cook said sales of the product, which starts at about $1,000, had surpassed the firm’s expectations.

苹果公司首席执行官蒂姆库克表示，该产品起价约1000美元，其销售额已经超过了公司预期。

Apple released the 10th anniversary phone in November. It has been the top-selling phone every week since, Mr Cook said.

11月，苹果公司发布了10周年纪念手机。库克表示，自此该手机每周都是最畅销款。

Investors had been worried that demand for the firm’s products may be dimming, concerns that appeared to be bolstered by a weaker-than-expected sales forecast for coming months.

投资者一直担心，对该公司产品的需求可能会削弱，对未来几个月销售低于预期的担忧似乎也在加剧。

The number of iPhones sold in the period also slipped 1% year-on-year to 77.3 million, but Apple executives said it was important to remember that the quarter was one week shorter than in 2016.

同期苹果手机销量7730万部，同比下降1%，但苹果高层表示，重点是本季度比2016年少一周。

Quarterly revenue climbed 13% year-on-year to a record $88.3bn.

季度收入同比增长13%，达883亿美元，打破纪录。

"I have long believed that a 90-day clock on unit sales is a very surface way to view Apple," Mr Cook said on a call with financial analysts.

库克在与金融分析师通话时表示:“我一直认为，以90天为单位来看待苹果销量非常肤浅。”

’Extremely engaged’

“全身心投入”

Mr Cook said he was watching figures such as the 1.3 billion active Apple devices around the world, which provide a strong customer base for the firm’s growing services businesses, which include Apple Pay and other revenue streams.

库克表示，他正在关注全球13亿在用苹果设备等数据，为苹果公司不断增长的服务业提供强大的客户基础，其中包括苹果支付和其他收入流。

And analyst Carolina Milanesi, of California-based Creative Strategies, tweeted that "1.3 billion users most of whom are extremely engaged with their devices is why the services numbers will be more and more interesting going forward".

总部位于加州的创意策略公司分析师Carolina Milanesi在推特上说，“13亿用户中大多数人都非常专注于他们的设备，正因为此客服电话将会越来越有趣。”

Apple has been under a cloud after the firm revealed that it deliberately slowed batteries in older phones, prompting investigations in several countries.

自苹果公司揭露其故意缩短旧款手机电池的使用寿命，一直饱受质疑，一些国家对其展开了调查。

It has since apologised, offering customers cheaper batteries and other modifications, but analysts have said that could reduce replacement purchases, potentially affecting the firm’s bottom line.

该公司已经道歉，电池等设备维修降价，但分析师表示，这可能会造成更换新产品减少，从而影响公司利润。

After an initial fall, Apple shares climbed more than 3% in after-hours trade.

开始降价后，苹果股价在盘后交易中攀升3%以上。

Last year Apple launched three new iPhones, but one was not like the others.

去年，苹果公司推出了三款新手机，但其中一款与其他款不同。

The iPhone X was the main event, the talk of the town. In contrast, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus felt obsolete before Tim Cook had even finished his presentation. Investors were worried that the presence of the iPhone X would put off people buying the cheaper iPhones. And, given the X started at $999, those people may decide not to buy an iPhone at all.

iPhone X压轴，街谈巷议。相比之下，在蒂姆库克结束演讲前，人们认为iPhone 8和8 Plus都已经过时了。投资者担心iPhone X的出现会造成人们推迟购买更便宜的iPhone。而且，考虑到iPhone X的起售价为999美元，人们可能决定不买iPhone了。

And that appears to be basically what happened. Apple sold marginally fewer iPhones compared with this time last year (though the company blamed that on a shorter accounting period compared with the same time in 2016).

这基本符合现实情况。与去年同期相比，苹果公司的iphone销量略有下降(即便该公司认为，与2016年同期相比该统计时期较短)。

With the average selling price going up by around $100, to $796, it means Apple may be selling fewer iPhones, but it is making more from each one.

苹果手机平均售价上涨约100美元，达796美元，这意味着苹果手机的销量可能会减少，但利润却在上涨。

Apple investors will be seeing it like this: selling fewer iPhones but dramatically upping the price is certainly one way to solve that ever-present supply chain headache.

苹果公司的投资者将会看到这样的情况:卖出更少的iphone，但大幅涨价，肯定是解决目前供应链问题的一个办法。