????作為一款時尚奢侈品，蘋果手表在中國顯然擁有非常光明的前景。上周一。當前美國超模克里斯蒂?特靈頓?伯恩斯現身蘋果發布會，解釋她如何使用蘋果手表健身時，很多人稱這是一次“尷尬甚至不搭調的代言”——作為一名超模，代言這樣一款宅男專用產品，實在違合感太強。而當中國超模劉雯戴著蘋果手表登上《Vogue服飾與美容》封面時，幾乎沒有人任何人站出來挑毛病。該雜志中文版總編這樣描述這種差異：“我們比其他地方的人更容易接受新技術和新數碼產品。”

????當然，蘋果多年來一直在中國潛心耕耘，想方設法地為蘋果手表鋪路。2013年，該公司與中國最大的國有運營商——中國移動達成了一項具有“分水嶺”意義的協議，以確保中國最大的移動網絡支持iPhone。而早在2007年，也就是第一代iPhone剛剛問世時，雙方就開始醞釀這項合作了。最近蘋果也將iPhone 6和iPhone 6 plus推向中國市場，這兩款產品搭載了中國用戶盼望已久的大屏。上個季度，全球iPhone銷量達到了創紀錄的7450萬部，盡管蘋果沒有披露按國別劃分的銷售數字，但據UBS公司預測，中國目前占據iPhone市場的36%，首次超過了美國的份額。

????此外，蘋果已經在有意地建立蘋果手表與中國的聯系。在3月9日蘋果發布會的開場視頻中，就出現了中國一家蘋果旗艦店開張的畫面。到2016年年中，中國蘋果零售店的數量將達到目前的兩倍。隨后，蘋果還特意指出這款手表完全可以與微信兼容——這個舉動非常明智，因為已經有中國用戶表達了蘋果手表的屏幕太小，恐怕難以兼容微信的擔憂。

????因此，盡管蘋果手表在西方的銷路或許依然存疑，但它在中國顯然有自己的市場。鑒于中國市場一直在為蘋果公司貢獻巨額利潤，中國用戶是否喜愛蘋果手表將直接決定這款設備上市初期的市場表現。（財富中文網）

????譯者：樸成奎

????審校：任文科

????Apple Watch’s promise in China as a fashionable luxury item is already clear. When former supermodel Christy Turlington Burns appeared during Apple’s U.S. event Monday to explain how she’s using Apple Watch for fitness, critics called it an awkward, even irrelevant product placement — an iconic women’s advocatewearing a watch “skewed to geeky guys.” But when theApple Watch graced the cover of Vogue Chinaalongside China’s most famous model, Liu Wen, hardly anyone batted an eye. As Vogue China’s editor-in-chief described the difference, “We embrace new technology and digital products more easily than perhaps people elsewhere.”

????Of course, Apple has spent years laying the groundwork in China for a potential hit with the Apple Watch. It sealed a “watershed” deal with state-owned China Mobile in 2013 to ensure China’s largest mobile network supported iPhones, an agreement that was in the making as far back as in 2007 when the first iPhone launched. Apple also recently brought its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to China, which sport the larger screens Chinese users have long demanded. Apple shipped a record-breaking 74.5 million iPhones worldwide last quarter, and while Apple doesn’t breakdown shipments by country, UBS estimates that China now claims 36% of the iPhone market, surpassing the U.S. for the first time.

????And Apple has already linked the Apple Watch to China. The company’s March 9 event kicked off with a video showing the opening of a new flagship Apple Store in China, where the retail locations are set todouble by mid-2016. Later, Apple showed off the Apple Watch’s compatibility with WeChat, a wildly popular messaging app in China. It was a wise move, as Chinese users have expressed worry that Apple Watch’s screen is too small for the app.

????So while Apple Watch’s relevance in the West may continue to be questioned, the wearable has a clear place in China. Given how lucrativeChina has been for Apple, whether or not China loves the Apple Watch could be precisely what makes or breaks the device initial reception.