VOA慢速英语2018 苹果将允许iPhone用户关闭降速功能（在线收听）

Apple to Allow Users to Turn Off iPhone Slowdowns

Apple says it will give iPhone users the ability to turn off a software tool that can slow down device performance.

苹果公司表示将使iPhone手机用户能够关闭一款会降低设备性能的软件工具。

The change is expected to come this spring with the release of Apple’s latest mobile operating system update, iOS 11.3.

预计这一变化将会随着今年春季苹果最新移动操作系统iOS11.3的发布而上线。

The announcement followed heavy criticism and user anger when it became public that Apple had secretly been slowing down operating systems of older iPhones.

当苹果公司一直暗中减缓老款iPhone手机操作系统的运行速度被公开之后，引起了大量的批评和用户抱怨，苹果公司随后公布了这一消息。

The slowdown issue was first pointed out in internet reports. Apple admitted the practice in December. In an explanation, the company said it only took the action to prevent some aging batteries from failing and completely shutting devices down.

互联网报道首先指出了苹果手机的降频问题。苹果公司在12月份承认了这种做法。该公司解释称，采取这种做法是为了防止一些老化电池发生故障并彻底关闭设备。

All rechargeable batteries used in mobile devices become less effective over time. Certain temperature conditions can also cause a battery to age faster.

移动设备中使用的所有可充电电池都会随着时间推移效率变低。某些温度环境也可能会导致电池加速老化。

Apple said these older batteries could unexpectedly shut down during times of high energy demand. It called such shutdowns “unacceptable” and said that is why the company took “power management” measures to prevent them.

苹果公司表示，这些老化电池在高能耗需求期间可能会意外关闭。该公司称这种关闭是“不可接受的”，并称这就是为何该公司会采取“电池管理”措施来防止这类事件发生。

Many people have long suspected Apple intentionally slows the performance of older iPhones in an effort to get users to buy new ones. Apple has strongly denied this suspicion.

很多人长期以来都怀疑苹果公司为了让用户购买新的iPhone手机而故意拖慢旧款iPhone手机的性能。苹果公司对此强烈否认。

“We have never - and would never - do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades,” the company said.

该公司表示：“我们从来没有，也绝对不会有意缩短任何苹果产品的寿命，或是降低用户体验来推动用户升级设备。”

Despite this explanation, Apple was criticized for not informing iPhone owners about the power issues before it decided to slow devices down. Many owners argued they would have chosen to replace batteries if they had known the issues beforehand.

尽管有这样的解释，苹果公司还是因为没有做出降频决定前将电池问题告知用户而受到批评。很多用户认为，如果他们事先知道这一问题，他们应该会选择更换电池。

Several lawsuits seeking monetary damages from Apple were also started by iPhone owners. They owners argued they would not have spent money on new iPhones if they had known there were other ways to fix slow performance.

苹果用户也已经发起了一些向苹果公司寻求经济赔偿的诉讼。这些用户认为，如果他们早知道有其它办法解决性能减缓问题，他们就不会花钱购买新的iPhone。

In a statement Wednesday, Apple said it had received requests for information about the issue from U.S. government agencies. The statement followed a Bloomberg report that the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission were looking at whether the company's actions had violated any securities laws.

苹果公司周三在一份声明中表示，该公司已经收到了美国政府机构要求提供相关信息的通知。彭博社报道称，美国司法部和美国证券交易委员会正在审查该公司的行为是否违反证券法。苹果公司随后发表了这一声明。

To answer user concerns, Apple announced it was offering owners of an iPhone 6 or later the chance to replace batteries at a reduced cost. The price to replace a battery was cut from $79 to $29, with the deal available worldwide through December 2018.

为了回应用户担忧，苹果公司宣布向iPhone及更高版本的用户提供特价更换电池的机会。更换电池的费用从79美元降到了29美元，该优惠措施到2018年12月前在全球范围内有效。

In its announcement about the iOS 11.3 update, the company said users themselves will be able to turn off the power management feature. In addition, a new tool will be added to show iPhone battery health and suggest when service is needed.

苹果公司在关于iOS 11.3更新的公告中时表示，用户自己将能够关闭电池管理功能。此外将新增一个工具用于显示iPhone电池的健康状况，并在需要更换电池时提出建议。

Apple also previewed some other new features to be released with its iOS 11.3 update this spring.

苹果公司还预告了今年春天在iOS 11.3更新中将会发布的一些新功能。

The update will include several new Animojis. These are animated characters iPhone X owners can use with their voices and facial expressions to create videos and messages.

这次更新将会包含一些新的动画表情。iPhoneX用户可以使用这些动画人物，再加上自己的声音和面部表情来创建视频和消息。

In addition, a new feature in the iOS Health app is designed to organize user data from various medical facilities in one view. The Health Records feature can also be used to send messages to patients about conditions, medicines and laboratory results. Apple says all medical data is encrypted for user protection.

此外，iOS健康应用程序中的一项新功能旨在将各家医疗机构的用户数据整合到一个视图中。健康记录功能还可以用于向患者发送有关病情、药品和检查结果等方面的信息。苹果公司表示，所有的医疗信息都得到了加密保护。

The iOS 11.3 update also includes a change to Apple Music the company says makes it easier to play unlimited music videos without seeing advertisements. Also, Apple News will include new features to find and view the most important videos of the day. Finally, a new tool called Business Chat will provide a way for users to directly connect with company help representatives from within the Messages service.

这次iOS11.3更新还包括了对苹果音乐的更改。该公司表示，这会使得用户可以更轻松地播放无限制的音乐视频而无需观看广告。苹果新闻将会包括查找和查看当天最重要视频的新功能。最后，一款名为商务聊天的新工具将给用户在信息中提供一种直连公司客服代表的途径。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

degrade – v. to damage the quality or condition of something

upgrade – n. a situation in which one thing is replaced by something better, newer, more valuable, etc.

feature – n. an interesting part or characteristic of something

animated – adj. produced by the creation of a series of drawings, pictures, etc.

encrypted – v. to change electronic information into a secret system of letters, numbers, or symbols to hide its meaning