Chris Pantons is what you’d call a Google Pixel super fan. The Knoxville, Tennessee native loves the software, the camera, the virtual assistant, all of it. He even credits the phone’s car crash detection tool with saving his life a few years ago when he was in an accident.你可以称克里斯·潘顿是谷歌Pixel手机的铁杆粉丝。这位田纳西州诺克斯维尔人喜欢Pixel的方方面面，包括软件、相机、虚拟助手。潘顿甚至认为，他在几年前的一次事故中，是手机上的车祸检测工具挽救了他的性命。“I’ve owned practically every Pixel device,” said Pantons, 33, who has posted hundreds of YouTube videos about Pixel phones and other tech products.“我几乎拥有所有的Pixel设备，”33岁的潘顿说，他在YouTube上发布了数百个关于Pixel手机和其他科技产品的视频。But this is the first year he won’t be upgrading to Pixel’s latest offering: the Pixel Fold, a foldable smartphone that starts at $1,799. “I’d love to own it,” he told CNN. “I don’t have the finances to do so. … That price is astronomical.”但今年是他第一次买不起Pixel的最新产品：Pixel Fold，一款起步价1799美元的可折叠智能手机。“我很想拥有它，但我没有这样的经济实力。...这个价格对我来说是个天文数字。”Earlier this month, Google became the latest tech company to unveil a foldable smartphone, with the promise of giving customers all the features they’ve come to expect in a phone, paired with a tablet-sized display. But Pantons wasn’t the only one who felt sticker shock.本月早些时候，谷歌最新发布了可折叠的智能手机，承诺为客户提供理想中的手机的所有功能，并配以平板电脑大小的显示屏。但潘顿并不是唯一一个受到其价格冲击的人。“My first car was $1800,” one user wrote on Twitter. “Google [lost] their minds.” Another user said they’ve been saving up, knowing the price for a Pixel foldable phone would inevitably be high once announced.“我的第一辆车才1800美元，”一位用户在推特上写道。“谷歌恐怕失去理智了。”另一位用户说，他们一直在攒钱，因为知道Pixel可折叠手机一旦发布，价格必然会很高。The pricing problem isn’t unique to Google. When Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold in 2020, it cost $1,999. It has come down in price somewhat, but the latest version of the Z Fold still starts at $1,799 – the same as the Pixel Fold. Even foldable models from budget brands retail for well over $1,000 in markets abroad.定价问题并不是谷歌特有的。三星在2020年推出Galaxy Z Fold时，其价格为1,999美元，尽管目前价格已经有所下降，但最新版本的Z Fold起步价仍是1799美元，与Pixel Fold相同。在国外市场，即使是廉价品牌的可折叠机型，零售价也远远超过1000美元。The higher price point is one of the factors limiting the size of the foldable market. Samsung currently dominates the category, followed by others including Motorola, Lenovo, Oppo, and Huawei. According to ABI Research, foldable and flexible displays made up about 0.7% of the smartphone market in 2021, and in 2022 expected to fall just shy of 2%.高昂的价格是限制可折叠手机市场规模的因素之一。目前，三星在折叠屏手机中独占鳌头，摩托罗拉、联想、Oppo和华为等其他公司紧随其后。根据ABI Research的数据，2021年，可折叠和柔性屏占智能手机市场的0.7%左右，2022年预计将略低于2%。Lowering the price could help boost traction, but manufacturers may struggle to do that anytime soon.降低价格可能有助于提高产品吸引力，但手机制造商可能不太容易做到立刻降价。
Premium parts
The flexible screen found on foldable phones is one of the biggest reasons why they cost so much.Flexible displays require more engineering and are more expensive to manufacture than traditional displays.与传统显示屏相比，柔性显示屏需要更多工程设计，制造成本更高。Foldable phones also remain a niche product for now, and manufacturers are targeting the price for the people willing to buy them early to help offset costs.可折叠手机目前也仍是一种小众产品，制造商将价格定位在愿意提前购买的人身上，以帮助抵消成本。
An uncertain future
The future for foldables remains uncertain. Most apps are still not optimized for foldable devices; and splurging for a first-generation device with a lot of unknowns is a risky bet for anyone.可折叠设备的前景仍然不明朗。大多数应用程序仍未针对可折叠手机进行优化；而为存在很多未知因素的第一代设备花钱，对任何人来说都是一个冒险的赌注。
- credit [ˈkredɪt]：把…归于; 认为…有; 相信
- astronomical [ˌæstrəˈnɑːmɪkl]：天文学的; 极其巨大的
- inevitably [ɪnˈevɪtəbli]：不可避免地; 必然地
- niche [niːʃ]：（营销）针对特定客户群的，细分的，专营的
编辑：ETTBL考办
翻译：Shaw Henry
