Everything We Know About Apple‘s Cheaper iPhone 

 Apple is working on a less-expensive iPhone, according to a report by Jessica E. Lessin in the The Wall Street Journal.

 根据Jessica E. Lessin在《华尔街日报》的报道，苹果正打算推出一款低价iPhone。 

 First, a possible reason why: Apple’s iPhones are already very expensive without the carrier subsidies. While the iPhone 4 is now free with a two-year contract and the iPhone 4S is $99, without a contract the devices are still hundreds of dollars. 

 首先，苹果此举一个可能的原因是：目前如果没有无线运营商的补贴，苹果iPhone的价格非常昂贵。尽管iPhone 4两年期合约机是免费的，iPhone 4S的两年期合约机价格也仅为99美元，但非合约机的价格仍高达数百美元。 

 The iPhone 4 without a contract, a phone two generations old, for example, costs $450 on Apple’s store. An iPhone 5 starts at $649 without a contract. 

 比如，比最新型号早两代的iPhone 4的非合约机在苹果零售店的价格为450美元。iPhone 5非合约机的起价为649美元。 

 Meanwhile Google‘s GOOG -0.20% flagship Android phone, the Nexus 4, costs $300 for its cheapest model . This helps Google snap up market share in places where subsidies aren’t as widely used.

 与此同时，谷歌的旗舰安卓手机Nexus 4最便宜的型号只要300美元。这让谷歌在一些运营商补贴尚不普遍的国家赢得了市场份额。 

 The new phone would be a big change in Apple’s strategy, as it signals a move to try and dominate multiple aspects of the smartphone market ─ including the low end.

 这款新手机标志着苹果战略的重大改变，因为这意味着苹果正努力在智能手机市场的多个方面占据主导地位，包括低端市场。 

 In the meantime, this is what we know: 

 同时，以下是我们了解到的信息： 

 ? The new model could resemble the regular iPhone, but come with a less-expensive body. Apple could employ a shell made of polycarbonate plastic, with many of the other parts remaining the same or being recycled from older iPhone models. 

 新款的低价机型与常规的iPhone相似，但是其手机外壳的成本更低。苹果可能会采用聚碳酸酯塑料外壳，多数其他零部件的材料可能保持不变，或者使用更早型号iPhone回收利用的材料制造。 

 ? Apple has some experience working with plastic cases. The iPhone 3 and 3GS had a plastic casing, though the materials were probably different from the models being tested now. 

 苹果曾经推出过塑料外壳的产品。iPhone3和3GS使用的就是塑料外壳，不过其材料可能与即将推出的这款不同。 

 ? It could launch as early as late 2013. The company hasn’t sold multiple new iPhone models with different storage capacities since launching in 2007. 

 这款手机最早可能在2013年年末发布。自从2007年推出第一款iPhone以来，苹果从未同时推出多款不同型号的新iPhone，只是存储容量有别。