慢速英语 | 苹果新系统可关闭“降频”功能
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，它将允许iPhone用户关闭使设备运行速度变慢的软件工具。
The change is expected to come this spring with the release of Apple’s latest mobile operating system update, iOS 11.3.
随着苹果公司最新的操作系统iOS 11.3的发布，这一变化有望在今年春季到来。
The announcement followed heavy criticism and user anger when it became public that Apple had secretly been slowing down operating systems of older iPhones.
在此之前，引起用户的愤慨。苹果公司因秘密放缓旧款iphone的操作系统而饱受诟病，
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.
运行速度变慢的问题最初在网上曝光。苹果公司也于去年12月承认此事。该公司解释说，他们只是采取了措施，防止一些老化的电池失效，于是便让设备停止运行。
All rechargeable batteries used in mobile devices become less effective over time.Certain temperature conditions can also cause a battery to age faster.
所有移动设备中使用的可充电电池会随着时间增长而失效。某些温度条件也会使电池加速老化。
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，在耗电速度过快的时候，这些旧电池可能会意外失效。该公司称这是“不可接受的”，并表示这就是为什么该公司采取“电源管理”措施来防止电池失效。
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.
长期以来，很多人都怀疑苹果故意降低老款iPhone的性能，以吸引用户购买新iPhone。苹果公司对此坚决否认。
“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：“我们从未——也绝不会——做任何事情，故意缩短任何苹果产品的寿命，或降低用户体验，让用户升级。”
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，人们还是指责苹果公司没有告知用户有关电池的问题就放缓设备运行。许多用户认为，如果他们事先知道这些问题，他们就会选择更换电池。
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.
iPhone用户还发起了几起诉讼，要求苹果公司赔偿金钱损失。用户们认为，如果他们知道有其他方法可以修复运行缓慢这一问题，他们就不会在新款iphone上花钱。
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.
苹果公司在周三的一份声明中说，美国政府机构已向该公司请求调查此问题。此前，彭博社报道称，美国司法部和证券交易委员会正在调查该公司的行为是否违反了证券法。
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.
为了回应用户的担忧，苹果公司宣布，它将为iPhone 6或其后几代产品用户提供价格更低的电池。更换电池的价格从79美元降至29美元，到2018年12月可以在全球范围内实行。
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.
该公司在其发布的iOS 11.3系统更新中表示，用户可以自己选择关闭电源管理功能。此外，新系统还将添加一个新的工具来显示iPhone的电池状况，并为用户提供服务。
Apple also previewed some other new features to be released with its iOS 11.3 update this spring.
苹果公司还预览了将于今年春季发布的iOS 11.3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.
此次更新还包括新的动画表情。iPhone X用户可以根据动画不同的声音和面部表情来创建视频和发送信息。
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健康应用程序的一个新功能可以在一个页面中收集各种医疗设备的用户数据。健康记录功能也可用于向患者发送关于病情、药物和实验室结果的信息。苹果公司表示，为保护用户隐私，所有的医疗数据都是加密的。
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.
iOS 11.3的更新还包括苹果音乐的变化，该公司表示，让用户不需要观看广告就可以播放无限制的音乐视频。此外，苹果新闻还将推出新功能，以查找并查看当天最重要的视频。最后，一个名为商业聊天（Business Chat）的新工具可以让用户直接与发送信息的公司代表进行联系。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。