好英语网iPhone 12测评：超快速体验——如果能找到5G信号的话
I started this iPhone review in the most peculiar way: by opening a map to find out where I could test it.
我以最最奇特的方式开始了这次iPhone的测评：打开地图，寻找可以试用的地方。
That’s because Apple’s newest iPhones, for the first time, work with 5G, the ultrafast fifth-generation wireless networks that will theoretically let people download a movie to their devices in seconds. The problem? The superspeedy 5G networks have not been rolled out everywhere.
这是因为，苹果的最新款iPhone首次支持5G，即超高速的第五代无线网络，理论上人们可以在数秒内下载一部电影到自己的设备上。但问题是，超高速的5G网络还未在所有地方铺开。
苹果上周发布了iPhone 12（左）和iPhone 12 Pro（右）。
I learned this the hard way. When Apple provided The New York Times with iPhone 12s to test on Verizon’s 5G network, I quickly discovered that my neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area didn’t have any 5G connection. So I went on a journey through San Francisco to find the superfast data speeds that Apple and Verizon executives promised when they unveiled the new iPhones last week.
这一点我亲历教训才发现。苹果给《纽约时报》提供iPhone 12在Verizon的5G网络上进行测试时，我很快发现，旧金山湾区我们家附近根本没有5G信号。于是我走遍旧金山，去找苹果和Verizon高管在上周发布新款iPhone时承诺的超速数据传输。
When I found places where I could connect to the fastest 5G networks, the iPhone experience was hugely gratifying. The network delivered download speeds to the phone that were up to seven times as fast as the best broadband services I have ever used.
找到可以连接最快的5G网络的地方后，iPhone的体验非常令人满足。网络传送到手机的下载速度是我用过最好的宽带服务的七倍。
But the locations where I tracked down ultrafast 5G were far less satisfying. At one point, I found the speedy connection in the back of a Safeway parking lot. Another time I was in front of a Pet Food Express. What would I do with an incredibly fast internet connection there?
但是我搜寻到的超速5G网络的地点就不怎么样了。一次是在Safeway超市停车场的后面找到了高速信号。还有一次是在一家宠物食品店门口。我在那儿要拿极速网络连接来干吗呢？
In most parts of San Francisco, the iPhone instead drew data from a more vanilla flavor of 5G that Verizon calls “5G Nationwide,” which is the connection that most of the country will get for the foreseeable future. Those download speeds ranged from much slower than to twice as fast as my older iPhone, which was on Verizon’s 4G network.
在旧金山的大部分地区，iPhone会从Verizon称之为“5G全国”的一个“淡味”（减速版）5G获取数据，短期内，美国大部分地区得到的都将是这一连接。与我连接到Verizon 4G网络的旧手机相比，下载速度从慢不少到快一倍之间不等。
That’s all to say that despite the hype around 5G, the network underwhelmed. At this point, it should not be the primary reason to splurge on an expensive handset in a pandemic-induced recession.
也就是说，尽管5G声势浩大，但网络不尽人意。目前来看，在疫情引发的经济衰退当中，5G不应成为入手一款昂贵手持设备的主要原因。
The iPhone 12, with bright screens and a more robust design, is still a solid upgrade from past iPhones. But you will pay a premium: The device, which becomes available on Friday, starts at $829, up from $699 for last year’s iPhone 11. (Another model, the iPhone 12 Mini, costs $729 but has a smaller screen and ships later this year.)
iPhone 12在旧款基础上得到切实升级，拥有明亮的屏幕和更为坚固的设计。但是你要支付更高的价格：这款设备将在周五上市，定价829美元起，而去年的iPhone 11定价699美元起。（另一款iPhone 12 Mini，定价729美元，但屏幕较小、上市更晚。）
I tested the iPhone 12 and the high-end iPhone 12 Pro, which starts at $999, for about a week. Here’s how that went.
我试用了iPhone 12和定价999美元起的高端iPhone 12 Pro一周时间。体验如下。
The Hunt for 5G
搜寻5G
Phone carriers like Verizon and AT&T started rolling out 5G networks last year and have marketed them as superfast. But what they aren’t telling you is that there are two flavors of 5G and that the one you will most likely get is not going to be the speedier one.
去年，Verizon和AT&T等电话运营商开始推出5G网络，并将这些网络宣传为超快速。但是他们没有透露的是，5G有两种口味，而多半情况下你得到的不是更快的那种。
Here are the two versions of 5G in a nutshell:
概括来说，5G的两个版本如下：
• There’s ultrafast 5G, which is called millimeter wave. (Verizon labels it “5G Ultra Wideband.”) It travels very short distances and has trouble penetrating obstacles and walls. That makes it usable in outdoor spaces like street corners or parks, but probably not in our offices or homes anytime soon. Because of that, only tiny slivers of the country now have superfast 5G.
• 超速5G，名为毫米波。（Verizon称之为“5G超级宽带”）它的传播距离很短，难以穿透障碍物和墙壁。这决定了它可在街头、公园这样的户外空间使用，但短期内可能无法在办公室和家庭中使用。正因如此，美国国内仅有很少一些碎片区域拥有超速5G。
• Then there’s “5G Nationwide,” which is more widely available. It travels much farther, but carriers have said it will be only about 20 percent faster than 4G wireless networks.
• 另一种就是“5G全国”，覆盖的区域更广。它的传播距离要远得多，但运营商说它只会比4G无线网络快出20%。
I saw the differences in 5G firsthand when I opened the Verizon coverage map for San Francisco. Verizon used red to highlight locations with 5G Nationwide, while areas with the ultrafast 5G were marked in dark red. The overwhelming majority of the city was shaded in red, with only small areas in dark red.
打开Verizon的旧金山信号地图，我亲眼看到了5G方面的差异。Verizon用红色突出显示“5G全国”的地点，而有超速5G的区域则用深红色标记。城里绝大多数地区都涂了红色，只有很小的一些区域为深红色。
To test ultrafast 5G, I drove to six locations that Verizon advertised as having the fast connection and used the Speedtest app from Ookla, a network diagnostics company.
为了测试超速5G，我开车去到据Verizon宣传具有快速连接的六个地点，并使用网络诊断公司Ookla的测速工具Speedtest应用程序进行测试。
At three of the locations in the city’s Marina district and Mission district, I was immediately disappointed. I walked up and down the streets, constantly refreshing websites and running the Speedtest app, but there was no superfast signal to be found. Instead, I got 4G or vanilla 5G connections.
其中海港区(Marina distric)和教会区(Mission district)的三个地点，我大失所望。我在街上走来走去，不断刷新网站并运行Speedtest程序，但没有发现超速信号。相反，我连到了4G或“淡味”5G。
Verizon said its engineers walked those same streets in the Marina over the weekend and were able to find the superfast 5G connection in one location but confirmed the signal had weakened in the other. (Verizon didn’t immediately comment on the location in the Mission district.)
Verizon说，周末他们的工程师去了海港区我走过的那些街道，可以在一个地点找到超速5G连接，但确认另一个地点的信号要弱一些。 （Verizon未立即对教会区的地点发表评论。）
That led me to conclude that Verizon’s coverage map was unreliable.
这让我得出Verizon的信号覆盖地图不可靠的结论。
Still, I drove to three other locations in the city’s Marina, Presidio Heights and South of Market districts. There, I finally found the fabled superfast 5G — and I was blown away.
然而我还是开车去了位于海港区、要塞区(Presidio Heights)和市场南区(South of Market)的其他三个地点。在这些地点，我终于找到了传说中的超速5G——然后我震惊了。
Standing in front of a camera store in South of Market, I got 5G speeds reaching 2,160 megabits a second, which was 2,900 percent faster than 4G. Even where it was a tad slower — behind the Safeway parking lot in the Marina district — the 5G iPhone drew speeds of 668 megabits a second, which was 1,052 percent faster than 4G.
站在市场南区一家相机店门口，我连上的5G速度达到2160兆每秒，高出4G足足2900%。即使在稍微慢些的地方——在海港区那家Safeway超市停车场后面——5G iPhone获得668兆每秒的速度，比4G快出1052%。
These were odd places to have blazing fast speeds, though. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, these areas did not have much foot traffic. The carriers have said ultrafast 5G speeds would be great for data-heavy tasks like streaming video, but I had no desire to do much streaming while standing on those street corners.
但这些拥有闪速信号的地点相当怪异。即使在新冠疫情之前，这些区域也没多少人流。运营商表示，超速5G对于像在线视频这样对数据流量要求高的任务相当合适，但是我一点也不想站在这些街头巷角刷视频。
Why the nondescript locations? Karen Schulz, a Verizon spokeswoman, said the company ran into complex engineering tasks in San Francisco. While ultrafast 5G relies on access to light poles, most of the city’s utilities infrastructure is underground. Verizon’s progress to deploy 5G has run into red tape, she said.
为什么是这些无趣的地点？Verizon的发言人凯伦·舒尔茨(Karen Schulz)说，该公司在旧金山遇到了工程难题。超速5G依赖电线杆，但本市的大部分水电基础设施都在地下。Verizon的5G进程遇上了规章阻碍，她说。
When I tested the new iPhones on the vanilla 5G network, any speed improvement was hardly noticeable. In the best cases, vanilla 5G was twice as fast as 4G, or 209 megabits a second compared with 103 megabits on 4G. But in some locations, 5G was slower than 4G. In one part of the Mission district, for instance, 5G speeds reached 28 megabits a second compared with 39 megabits on 4G.
当我在“淡味”5G网络上测试新iPhone时，几乎察觉不到明显的提速。最佳情况下，“淡味”5G速度为209兆每秒，比4G的103兆每秒快一倍。在一些地点，5G比4G还慢。比如在教会区的某个地方，5G的速度达28兆每秒，而4G达39兆每秒。
Ms. Schulz said that customers should initially expect the 5G Nationwide network to perform like 4G, and that performance and coverage would grow over time.
舒尔茨说，客户最初应期待“5G全国”与4G的表现差不多，但它的表现和覆盖范围会随着时间改善。
I’m not sure that’s good enough. I’ve reviewed phones over the past 12 years and covered the transition from 2G to 3G, and from 3G to 4G. I have never seen a network rollout this confusing and spotty — 5G, simply, is a mess.
我不确定这样是否足够。在做手机测评的过去12年来，我报道过从2G到3G、3G到4G的转变，还从没见过任何新网络的推出如此匪夷所思、参差不齐——5G说白了就是一团糟。
Everything Else
其他种种
Setting aside the network issues, there’s still a handset to review — and that brings much better news.
将网络问题放置一边，回过头来测评这款手持设备——我发现情形要好得多。
The design changes to the new iPhones are substantive. The iPhone 12 has a fancy OLED screen, a more modern display technology. So it looks brighter and has more accurate colors than the iPhone 11, which used LCD screen technology. (OLED was previously exclusive to Apple’s high-end iPhones.) The edges of the phone are also now flat instead of round.
新款iPhone有着实质性的设计改变。iPhone 12有华丽的OLED屏幕，一种更加现代的显示技术。这让它看起来更亮、比使用LCD屏幕的iPhone 11拥有更多精确的色彩。（OLED之前仅在苹果的高端iPhone中使用。）手机的边缘也由弧形改为平直。
The changes have helped the handset shed some weight and thickness while maintaining a roomy 6.1-inch screen. It felt much more comfortable inside my pants pockets than the iPhone 11, which always seemed too thick.
这些改变减轻了设备的重量和厚度，同时保持了宽阔的6.1英寸屏幕。它放在口袋里的感觉要舒服得多，之前iPhone 11总感觉太厚了。
Apple also said it had strengthened the display glass, making it four times less likely to break. It’s difficult to test that scientifically, but I dropped the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro several times by accident on hard surfaces. They survived without any scuffs.
苹果表示，它强化了显示屏玻璃，现在它破裂的可能性降低了四倍。这很难科学地进行测试，但我好几次不小心将iPhone 12和iPhone 12 Pro掉在坚硬表面，都没有发生任何磨损。
Also new is a charging mechanism that Apple calls MagSafe. It’s basically a new standard to support faster charging via magnetic induction. The new standard will open doors to other companies to make accessories that magnetically attach to iPhones, such as miniature wallets.
另外一个新改变，是苹果称为MagSafe的充电系统。基本上这就是一种支持电磁感应进行更快速充电的新标准。新标准将向其他公司打开大门，他们可以制造可以磁性附着在iPhone上的附件，比如微型钱包。
I tested both the MagSafe charger and Apple’s MagSafe wallet. But I preferred charging with a normal wire because it was faster, as well as carrying my own wallet, because it can hold more cards.
我试用了MagSafe充电器和苹果的MagSafe钱包。但我更喜欢用普通的电线充电，因为充得更快，我也更喜欢拿自己的钱包，因为能装更多卡。
There’s a major downside to all of the new features: We have to pay a lot for these phones. Apple is also no longer including charging bricks or earphones with the new iPhones since so many people already own power bricks and fancy wireless earbuds. While that will lead to less waste, this shift and the price jump may annoy plenty of people.
所有这些新卖点都有一大缺点：买手机的价格很高。苹果也不再在新iPhone中附带充电器和耳机了，因为很多人已经有充电器和高大上的无线耳机。尽管这样可以减少浪费，但这一转变和价格提升可能会让不少人不高兴。
So Should I Buy?
所以为什么要买？
It’s tough to recommend splurging on a fancy phone in a pandemic. But here are three quick questions to ask yourself about whether it’s time to upgrade:
疫情当头，要推荐大家去剁手一款高档手机实在很难。但要决定是否该升级了，你可以问自己这三个小问题：
• Can I still get software updates on my current phone?
• 现在的手机还能进行软件更新吗？
• Is my device repairable for a reasonable cost?
• 我的手机能花合理的价格修好吗？
• Am I happy with my phone?
• 我对自己的手机还满意吗？
If you answered no to any of the above questions, you will probably be happy investing in this upgrade.
如果你对上述任何一个问题的回答是否定的，那么你很可能会高兴地投资于这次升级。
But if you answered yes, wait it out. In a few years, the carriers will probably have a better handle on 5G. At that point, it may even be safe enough to leave the house again and reap the benefits of the mobile companions we carry everywhere.
但如果你的答案都是肯定的，那么再等等。再过几年，运营商可能会出台更好的5G。到那时我们可能也可以安全地出门了，那么我们又可以尽情享用随处携带的移动伙伴了。