That's according to a report from the New York Times, which dived into the current state of Apple's Worldwide Video division. The Times says that Apple currently has 12 original content projects currently in the works, most of which had been previously¹ rumored², but also reveals Apple is aiming to launch its streaming service as early as March 2019, though it may be delayed until later that summer.

据《纽约时报》报道，苹果目前要在世界范围内投入视频领域。当前有12部原创作品正在创作，这可能是谣言，但是也能看出苹果将在2019年3月或明年夏天进军流媒体服务。

The reason for not launching until next year? It probably has more to do with development and production than technical issues. Many shows take between 8 to 12 months to shoot a whole season, and given that most original content is made available to users in one batch³ so they can binge-watch the whole season in one sitting, it’s likely Apple needs to wait to launch its service until the entire seasons of its original content shows can be shot.

为什么明年才发布视频呢？技术倒不在话下，但是发展方向和制作周期导致时间推后。很多节目制作周期在8到12个月。为了让观众一次性看到整季节目，苹果似乎要等到整季拍完才会上线流媒体服务。

Software and services is seen as a key growth driver for Apple in the future as smartphone life cycles potentially get longer and as the iPhone-maker looks to monetize is massive user base.

随着智能手机寿命延长，未来苹果要想让用户变现，主要增长力就在软件和服务。

Revenues from services came in at $8.5 billion in the September quarter, growing 34 percent year-on-year.

第三季度流媒体服务的收益达85亿美元，同比增长34%。

And video could be a way to boost that further, building off the back of other subscription⁴ services like Apple Music.

相比苹果音乐这样的订阅服务，视频能带来更大的收益涨幅。

Apple, the world's largest company by market capitalization, has already dabbled⁵ with original content. It acquired rights for "Carpool Karaoke," which debuted⁶ on Apple Music this year, for example.

苹果作为全球最大的资本市场公司，早就全身心开启原创内容服务了。今年拿下了《顺风车卡拉OK》(Carpool Karaoke)的播放版权，在苹果音乐上首播。

And Chief Executive Tim Cook has also commented on original content, hinting there could be more to come.

首席执行官蒂姆·库克（Tim Cook）也对原创内容做出回应，说还会有更多的原创出现。

"With our toe in the water, we are learning a lot about the original content business, and thinking about ways that we could play in that," Cook said in an earnings⁷ call in January.

1月，库克在盈利电话会议中说：“我们正在涉猎原创内容这一领域，也在思考苹果要如何加入。”