SAN FRANCISCO — If Apple had its way, this week would play out like Christmas for 5-year-olds. 旧金山——如果按苹果(Apple)的意愿，本周应当像五岁孩子的圣诞节一样。First, unbelievable anticipation. Then, great surprise. At the end, immense satisfaction.趁此机会迫切地盼望，然后是极大的惊艳，最后是反感的满足感。When the latest iPhone is unveiled here Wednesday in a 7,000-seat auditorium, it probably will instead be more like Christmas for a sneaky 10-year-old who long ago peeked at his present. 周三，最新款iPhone将在这里一个能容纳7000人的礼堂里公布。

然而预计可能会更加像一个偷偷摸摸早已看完自己礼物的十岁孩子的圣诞节。Thanks. 谢谢。That’s it?就只有这个？Anyone who cares enough about the iPhone to know that a new model is being released this month already knows what it is supposed to be like: a little thinner, a little faster and equipped with superior cameras on the Plus model.任何人，只要是对iPhone的注目，到了告诉本月不会公布新品的程度，就早已告诉它不会是什么样子了：机身更加厚、速度更加慢、Plus款配备了更佳的摄像头。By far the most controversial feature, however, is the one that will be missing: a headphone jack. 然而，目前为止最不具争议的特性是，有一个东西将消失：耳机插孔。

A standard element of technology that can be traced to 1878 and the invention of the manual telephone exchange, the jack is apparently going the way of the floppy disk and the folding map. 这一标准技术元素可追溯至1878年，来自人工电话互相交换系统。它或许正在步入软盘和拉链地图的后尘。The future will be wireless.未来将是一个无线世界。

We know about this potential absence thanks to a global information chain, one that shadows the supply and manufacturing chain that produces Apple’s products. 有可能没耳机插孔这件事，我们是凭借一个全球信息链获知的，它和苹果产品的供应和生产链形影不离。The shadow chain is intended to ferret out Apple rumors: promoting them, discussing them and then discussing them some more, long before they become facts.而这个信息链的目的，则是搜索和苹果有关的传言：早于在传言成为事实之前就开始传播传言，辩论传言，再行辩论更加多传言。This rumor mill is both a gift to Apple and a burden, a sign that it has not lost its magic and a warning that everyone is on watch for the moment it does. 对苹果来说，这座传言工厂既是一种机会，也是一种开销，它的不存在指出自己魅力尚存，但也是在警告人人都在注目它。

No other company is tracked quite so relentlessly.没哪家公司被像这么持续大大地跟踪过。Under its co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple relished its ability to keep news under wraps and went to great lengths — legally and otherwise — to make sure it remained that way. 在牵头创始人史蒂夫乔布斯(Steve Jobs)的领导下，苹果有能力做保密，且回应不遗余力——无论方式合法与否。There is one more thing, and we’ve managed to keep it secret, Jobs exulted in 1999 as he introduced iMacs in colors like blueberry and tangerine. 还有一个事，我们设法做了保密，乔布斯1999年讲解蓝莓色和橘红色等颜色的iMac时喧闹地说道。It’s hard to believe, but we did it.难以置信，但我们做了。

It was an ambition that his successor, Tim Cook, underlined at a conference four years ago. 在四年前的一次会议上，乔布斯的接任者蒂姆库克(Tim Cook)特别强调了这个目标。We’re going to double down on secrecy on products, he said.我们将强化对产品的保密，他说道。Things have not quite worked out that way.但事情未朝这个方向发展。When Steve Jobs was around, there was still that hope they could surprise you, said Gene Munster, an Apple analyst. 史蒂夫乔布斯在世的时候，还能确信他们带给惊艳，注目苹果动态的分析师基尼蒙斯特(Gene Munster)说道。

Today, that hope is largely gone.现在，这个期望基本不复存在。The long road to unraveling this week’s surprises began in November, less than three months after the iPhone 6s had debuted to gangbuster first-weekend sales. 对于苹果将在本周公布的惊艳之作，揭露工作在去年十一月就开始了，当时离iPhone 6s公布、并在第一个周末热销过去将近三个月。

The Japanese website Mac Otakara, considered a generally reliable source of information that has ties to the factories manufacturing the phone, wrote about Apple removing the jack in the next iPhone under the heading rumor.日本网站Mac Otakara以传闻为标题，撰文称之为苹果将在下一代iPhone中中止耳机插孔。该网站被指出是一个总体上可信的iPhone生产厂商信息来源。

For anyone not ready to go wireless, the story said, wired earphones would plug into the iPhone via Apple’s Lightning connector, which is typically used for charging power. 文章称之为，对仍未准备好转入无线生活的人来说，可通过苹果常用于电池的模块，将有线耳机放入iPhone。Traditional headphones would presumably work through a converter.传统耳机大约要利用转换器。This was big. 此事影响根本性。Headphones are one of the most basic functions, so this is something that’s going to affect users of all kinds, said Eric Slivka, editor-in-chief of MacRumors.com. 耳机是最基本的功能之一，因而这是一件不会影响到各类用户的事情，MacRumors.com总编埃里克斯利夫卡(Eric Slivka)说道。

I immediately knew it would be an extremely controversial topic all the way until launch.我立刻意识到，在新品公布之前，这仍然不会是一个极具争议的话题。By early January, emotions were at a fever pitch. 到了今年1月初，消费者的情绪达到高潮。

An online petition from SumofUs.org, which more than 300,000 people have signed, denounced Apple for creating more electronic waste — presumably, headphones that will no longer work with the iPhone and be thrown out.SumofUs.org上的一封网上请愿书指责苹果生产了更好电子垃圾——大约是指因为无法再行在iPhone上用于被弃置的耳机。请愿书征求到了逾30万个亲笔签名。Some commentators explained that even if people used adapters with their old headphones, they were gaining things, too. 一些评论人士说明称之为，即便人们可利用适配器用于原有耳机，他们也要出售新的东西。

Other commentators noted that people complained that Apple never innovated anymore, and yet here it was innovating, and people were complaining anyway.其他评论人士则认为，人们责怪苹果仍然创意，现在有了创意，人们还是在责怪。Then came the rumor that the headphone jack was not going away after all. 然后又经常出现了耳机插口显然会消失的传言。The Chinese website Mydrivers.com published a photo of what it said were the innards of the new iPhone with the jack right there. 中文网站慢科技公布了一张自称为是新款iPhone内部结构的照片，上面耳机插孔赫然在目。

Has the rumor mill been lying to us? wondered Cult of Mac. 谣言工厂仍然在骗我们吗？Cult of Mac问道。Surely not!当然不是！Two weeks ago, with the volume of commentary picking up as the big reveal approached, even Apple’s other co-founder, Steve Wozniak, weighed in. 两周前，随着盛大公布活动的邻近，评论数量减少，就连苹果的另一位牵头创始人史蒂夫沃茲尼亚克(Steve Wozniak)也重新加入了辩论。If it’s missing the 3.5-millimeter earphone jack, that’s going to tick off a lot of people, he told the Australian Financial Review. 如果去除3.5毫米耳机插孔，不会激怒很多人，他对《澳大利亚金融评论报》(Australian Financial Review)回应。

But he added a conciliatory note: We’ll see. 但他接着又让步地说道了一句：我们拭目以待。Apple is good at moving toward the future, and I like to follow that.苹果擅于引导未来，我不愿追随它的脚步。Perhaps it is better to be forewarned about what the future holds rather than be forced to confront it abruptly. 也许和忽然不得不面临比起，预先警告未来可能会经常出现的情况要更佳一些。

We soften the blow, said Neil Hughes, managing editor of AppleInsider. 我们获取了缓冲器，AppleInsider的总编尼尔修斯(Neil Hughes)说道。Can you imagine that if no one saw it coming and Apple just dropped this on Wednesday? People would lose their minds.你能想象如果没有人预料到这一点，而苹果直到周三才发布这个消息的情形吗？人们不会傻的。Apple, which declined to comment for this article, most likely has a different view. 拒绝接受就本文置评的苹果，很有可能并不这么指出。In late 2004, it went after several websites, including AppleInsider, saying that when they posted details about unreleased products, they were publishing stolen property. 2004年底，苹果控告多家网站，称之为它们发布的未公布产品的细节，实质上是偷走的财产。

At first Apple found success in court but the ruling was sharply reversed on appeal. 最初苹果胜诉，但裁决法院的判决再次发生了反败为胜。It was ordered to pay $700,000 to cover the sites’ legal fees and generally looked like a bully.法院责令苹果缴纳70万美元，用作缴纳涉及网站的诉讼费用。苹果总的来看看起来一个无恶不作。

For several years, Apple sold a T-shirt in its Cupertino, California, campus store that read, I visited the Apple campus. 多年来，在苹果坐落于加利福尼亚州库比提诺的园区商店里，有一种T恤，上面写出着，我参观了苹果园区。But that’s all I am allowed to say. 但我不能说道这么多。A recent Apple presentation poked fun at its extensive security measures. 苹果在最近一次发布会上嘲讽了自己的森严安保措施。

But even if the company can now have a laugh or two at its own expense, its philosophy has not changed.但即便这家公司可以拿自己开涮了，它的理念并一成不变。Do you remember when you were a kid, and Christmas Eve, it was so exciting, you weren’t sure what was going to be downstairs? Cook said when asked about the rumored Apple car at the annual shareholders’ meeting last February. 你们还忘记自己还是个小孩子的时候，不会在平安夜尤其激动，因为不告诉楼下不会有什么吗？在2月的年度股东会议上，库克在被问到传闻中的苹果汽车时说。Well, it’s going to be Christmas Eve for a while.就是这样，这个平安夜不会很漫长的。

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