the new iphone

　　北京时间10月14日凌晨1点，苹果秋季线上发布会举行。在本次发布会上，苹果公司正式发布iPhone 12手机，并宣布iPhone 12系列手机均支持5G通信。因为疫情原因，今年的iPhone来的比往年都晚了一点，但在产品数量方面，今年反倒是最多的一次，一下发布了四款产品。

　　苹果公司的首席执行官库克表示，支持5G功能是迄今为止最令人兴奋的一步。今年手机的外观改变较大，从iPhone 6开始沿用多年的弧形边框又变回了iPhone 5时代的直角边框。

　　此次升级还包括更多颜色选择、更高清晰度的显示技术、专业级摄像头系统、防震屏幕和超快网络体验。

　　Apple's second products launch in this autumn came as expected on Tuesday with their biggest but not-out-of-expected highlight—5G-powered iPhone 12 lineup.

　　Tim Cook, the company's CEO unveiled four new iPhone 12 models at the empty Apple Park, California-based headquarters, via a virtual presentation, elaborating the performance, camera features, durability, and most importantly, the fast wireless connections.

　　The core of the line-up, the iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch display, will sell for $799, while a "Mini" version with a 5.4-inch screen will be slightly cheaper at $699. A "Pro" version with three cameras and a new 3-D "lidar" sensor starts at $999, with the largest "Pro Max" starting at $1,099 and going up to $1,399.

　　Compared with the iPhone 11 lineup, the most obvious and probably the biggest design change since full screen is the edge. All of the edges in the new iPhone 12 models go square.

　　The upgrades also include more colors, higher definition display technology, professional-level camera system, shock-resistant screen and super-fast network experience.

　　微博平台上，在网友讨论#iPhone 12价格#之际，#iPhone 12不附赠耳机充电器#也作为关键词迅速登上热搜榜。

　　与9月份iPad发布会上的口径一致，苹果宣布以 “减少碳排放和电子垃圾” 为由，自iPhone 12开始将不再提供有线耳机和充电器，包装盒内只有一部手机和一条USB线。

　　But in a move that may annoy some consumers, Apple will no longer offer free charging adapters in the new lineup, noting the smaller, lighter boxes are more environmentally friendly. Power adapters will be sold independently at $20 and $50, depending on how fast they charge phones.

　　The new products will test whether Apple can ride a wave of consumer excitement around 5G wireless data networks, whose speediest variants outstrip their predecessors' data rates multiple times over.

　　The much-hyped 5G connectivity

　　苹果表示，所有在美国销售的iPhone 12机型都将支持最快的5G毫米波，以及低频频段。

　　但iPhone买家是否会看到速度大幅提升，很大程度上还要看他们所处的位置以及他们使用的运营商，TECHnalysis Research负责人Bob O'Donnell称，“很多细节问题让5G的一些承诺难以兑现。”

　　Strategy Analytics的副总监Boris Metodiev曾对媒体表示，对于美国消费者来说，拥有支持5G的智能手机“就像拥有法拉利……但是如果你在村里驾车，肯定不能开到每小时200英里，因为乡下的道路不支持高速行驶。”

　　Apple said all iPhone 12 models in the United States will support millimetre wave 5G, the fastest variant of the technology, as well as lower-frequency bands.

　　But whether iPhone buyers see a dramatic speed boost will depend heavily on where they are and which carrier they use - what Bob O'Donnell, head of TECHnalysis Research, called "lots of little niggly details that get in the way of delivering on the promise of 5G."

　　Using the next iPhone or any 5G enabled device on today's network, however, will be "like having a Ferrari ... but using it in your local village and you can't drive to up to 200 miles per hour, simply because the roads cannot maintain those speeds," explained Boris Metodiev, associate director of research firm Strategy Analytics.

　　据悉，目前几家美国电信运营商已经部署了基于较低频段的5G网络，其速度略高于4G。

　　风险投资公司Loup Ventures的长期苹果分析师吉恩·蒙斯特(Gene Munster)估计，虽然美国正在努力建设一种速度明显更快的“中频段”5G网络，但要到2025年才能普及到四分之三的美国人口。

　　相比之下，中国和韩国速度更快的5G网络的覆盖范围更广。

　　Current 5G U.S. networks mostly use low-band wireless spectrum, or airspace, that is slower than high-band spectrum, but more reliable over longer distances. It will likely take years before the massive speed boost phone carriers promise will make augmented reality and real-time cloud gaming seamless.

　　Several U.S. telecom operators have deployed networks based on lower spectrum bands, with slightly higher speeds than 4G. A noticeably faster variant of "mid-band" 5G is also being rolled out, but it is unlikely to reach three-quarters of Americans until 2025, estimated longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster of venture capitalist firm Loup Ventures.

　　In South Korea and in China, faster 5G networks are more pervasive. But Apple will be competing against local brands including Samsung in South Korea, which is already on its second line of 5G phones, and China's Huawei, whose sales have surged after the telecom giant was banned in the United States.

　　Supporting China's GPS system

　　除支持5G网络之外，iPhone 12还首次支持中国北斗定位技术。

　　尽管GPS是最流行的全球卫星导航系统，但其他国家也正在或已经部署了自己的系统（包括俄罗斯的GLONASS，中国的BDS和欧盟的伽利略），以提供互补、独立的定位、导航和计时功能。

　　北斗卫星导航系统（BDS）是中国自行研制的全球卫星导航系统。在所有中国智能手机品牌，甚至韩国的三星都宣称他们的手机可以使用中国的BDS服务之后，苹果公司首次确认现在其iPhone 12型号也可以使用该服务。

　　Location is a basic but major function for smartphones. The positioning and navigation capabilities are supported by the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) embedded in the gadgets.

　　Although GPS is the most prevalent GNSS, other nations including Russia's GLONASS, China's BDS and EU's Galileo are fielding, or have fielded, their own systems to provide complementary, independent positioning, navigation and timing capability.

　　After all Chinese smartphone brands and even South Korea's Samsung claimed their phones have access to China's BDS services, Apple, for the first time, confirmed the service is now also accessible to their iPhone 12 models.

　　As one of Apple's biggest oversea markets, China has always been on the top list of the company's marketing strategy. With over 100 million views, the tag "iPhone12" ranked as the no. 1 topic on China's Twitter-like Weibo after the official product launch.

　　But this year's launch drew mixed reactions in China with fans cheering a 5G model for their favorite brand while others planned to wait for upcoming devices from local rivals like Huawei Technologies, especially when the much-touted 5G capability is no longer a strong selling point.

　　华为和小米等中国品牌已经比苹果提前一年推出了高端5G设备。Canalys移动业务副总裁Nicole Peng表示：“现在在中国，5G并不是一项高级功能，而是一项必备功能。”

　　Canalys预计，到2020年底，中国50％的手机用户将使用5G设备，因为网络和手机品牌正积极推动使用。然而在同一时间，只有29％的美国手机用户将使用5G设备。

　　Chinese brands like Huawei and Xiaomi have already rolled out higher-end 5G devices one year ahead of Apple. "In China now, 5G is not a premium feature, it's a must-have feature," said Nicole Peng, who tracks China's smartphone sector at Canalys.

　　Canalys expects 50 percent of Chinese phone owners to be using a 5G device by the end of 2020, as networks and phone brands have aggressively pushed adoption. Only 29 percent of U.S. phone owners will be on 5G devices by the same time.

　　所以，你会考虑购买这部手机吗？