你可能突然之間聽說了一個關于這家市值排名第一、第二、第三、第四的美國公司的小消息。在這個駭人聽聞的消息中，蘋果CEO蒂姆·庫克向投資者發布了一封1,370字的公開信，說公司收入意外下降了5%，然后又在CNBC上找了15分鐘的借口。

蘋果上一財政季度的營收僅為840億美元，遠低于華爾街分析師預期的假日季915億美元的收入。也比去年創記錄的883億美元要低。庫克稱，收入下降的主要原因是在中國的銷售下滑。蘋果股價在過去三個月已經下跌了30%，上周四早盤又下跌了9%。這使得蘋果的市值低于亞馬遜和谷歌。（它之前已經落后于微軟。）但蘋果CEO表示，他對蘋果的長期未來仍然“充滿信心和興奮”。

無論這對蘋果、以及更寬泛的來說對科技行業意味著什么，這條消息無疑是對科技新聞行業的一大肯定。首先必須推薦彭博社專欄作家希拉·奧維德，他在幾年前就開始批評庫克沒有警告投資者有諸多因素會導致智能手機銷量增長停滯。獨立的蘋果專欄作家和博主約翰·格魯伯發表了幾篇文章，其中最引人注目的是，他將庫克的冗長的借口與史蒂夫·喬布斯在2002年處理類似事件的方式進行了比較。投資者兼作家馬利克則指出了一個更為廣泛的問題，西方奢侈品牌如蒂芙尼、蔻馳以及現在的蘋果等都過于依賴中國。

我也不得不火上添油。庫克應對全球智能手機銷售放緩（銷量在2016年見頂）的主要策略很簡單：提高價格。它與2017年推出的iPhone X時尚能奏效，但在2018年的產品線中卻慘遭滑鐵盧。到2018年年底，蘋果和無線運營商提供的交易越來越利欲熏心。圣誕節前幾天，當我走進當地的蘋果商店時，屏幕上突然彈出一條蘋果的通知：“你現在就可以用這款iPhone 7 Plus換一臺新的XR，只要449美元。”對當前問題，一個簡單回應應該是：降價。

或者正如智能手機市場分析師尼爾·沙阿在推特上所言，蘋果在中國陷入困境，是因為“瘋狂的定價適得其反”，再加上本土競爭者的成長。他總結稱：“蘋果仍然處于有利的位置，但需要重新調整其定價與價值（主張）戰略。”希望蒂姆·庫克能聽到。（財富中文網）

譯者：冉文忠

You may have heard overnight that there was a little news about the fourth-ranked U.S. company by market capitalization. In a blab-fest worthy of Dr. Phil, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a 1,370-word letter to investors about a surprise 5% revenue drop, then went on CNBC for another 15 minutes of excuse-making.

Instead of bringing in $91.5 billion in the holiday quarter, as Wall Street analysts expected, Apple’s revenue totaled just $84 billion. That’s down from an all-time record of $88.3 billion a year earlier. The main culprit was slipping sales in China, Cook said. Apple’s stock, already down 30% in the past three months, fell another 9% in morning trading on last Thursday. That pushed Apple’s market cap below those of Amazon and Google. （It was already trailing Microsoft.） But Apple’s CEO said he remains “confident and excited” about Apple’s long-term future.

Whatever the implications for the company and the wider tech sector, the news certainly brought out the best in the tech journalism sector. Recommended reads must start with Bloomberg columnist Shira Ovide, who chastises Cook for not warning investors years earlier about the forces conspiring to stall smartphone sales. Independent Apple columnist and blogger John Gruber put out several pieces, led by a particularly unflattering comparison between Cook’s wordy tumble of excuses and Steve Jobs handling of a similar episode in 2002. Investor and writer Om Malik sees a wider problem for Western luxury brands like Tiffany, Coach and, now, Apple—all of which have become too reliant on China.

I’ll add just one more log to the fire. Cook’s primary strategy for dealing with the global smartphone slowdown （unit sales peaked in 2016） has been a simple one: higher prices. It worked with 2017’s introduction of the iPhone X, but it appears to have failed badly for 2018’s lineup. By the end of 2018, Apple and wireless carriers were offering increasingly lucrative trade in deals. When I walked into a local Apple store a few days before Christmas, a notification from Apple popped up on my screen along the lines of “You could trade in this iPhone 7 Plus right now, and get a new iPhone XR for just $449.” One simple response to the current problems: lower prices.

Or as smartphone market analyst Neil Shah put it on Twitter, Apple’s China struggles arose because of “insane pricing which has backfired” plus improving local competition. “Apple still is in a great position & needs to re-calibrate its pricing vs value （proposition） strategy,” he concludes. Hopefully, Tim Cook is listening.