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[Goldenhen]

I originally was going to buy De Beats headphone as my first headphone but thank god my younger brother talked me out of it and suggested me to buy Audio-Technica ATH-AD700. So I did and I have to say it's really sound amazing and crystal clear compare to all my earphones I bought over the years.

I think Apple should pick Audio Technica.

 

[Aurongel]

Beats were always more fashion statement than quality headphone product so I'm not sure why anyone cares about this acquisition to be perfectly honest. It's not like they were on the cutting edge of their technology the same way Apple routinely is.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

So this is essentially confirmed now?

http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/5/9/5698632/dr-dre-hip-hop-billionaire-video

 

[Blastoise]

"First billionaire in Hip-Hop"

 

[Blablurn]

So this is essentially confirmed now?

http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/5/9/5698632/dr-dre-hip-hop-billionaire-video

dude got paid. good for him. he nailed the zeitgeist with those headphones.

 

[Blastoise]

Where the fuck is Detox, Dre!

 

[Malvolio]

Makes perfect sense. I'm surprised I didn't see this coming. I'm not a fan of either company, but pricing aside, these two have forced the rest of their market to step up their game. If this means more devices with improved audio quality across the entire market then I'll call this move a win.

 

[Synth_floyd]

Why are they buying Beats? They're not buying it for the gaudy headphones and decent but nothing special audio quality of them. Is the streaming service really worth $3.2 billion?

 

[Vanillalite]

Dr Dre about to get phat paid!

 

[thenexus6]

Those boom sound speakers on the HTC are done by Beats or am I thinking completely incorrectly?

 

[twobear]

cool so they'll replace their already crummy earphones with some similarly crummy earphones

 

[ProfessorX]

Why is everybody hating on the Beats audio equipment?

Why are they buying Beats? They're not buying it for the gaudy headphones and decent but nothing special audio quality of them. Is the streaming service really worth $3.2 billion?

They're buying it for the Brand, the products, and the streaming service.

 

[Ovid]

Why are they buying Beats? They're not buying it for the gaudy headphones and decent but nothing special audio quality of them. Is the streaming service really worth $3.2 billion?

$3.2 billion is about 2x company revenue. Yes, they made over a billion dollars last year.

 

[Tomcat]

Why is everybody hating on the Beats audio equipment?



They're buying it for the Brand, the products, and the streaming service.

because its crap?

 

[old]

Why are they buying Beats? They're not buying it for the gaudy headphones and decent but nothing special audio quality of them. Is the streaming service really worth $3.2 billion?

I've heard Beats music subscription has celebrities curate the playlists. I've seen likewise done elsewhere, but maybe Beats has some patents or contracts going on in there with that. Personally as someone who subscribes to a streaming service, I'm intrigued about it. I want to hear what the tastemakers are listening to so that's a big draw for me.

 

[CPS2]

Those boom sound speakers on the HTC are done by Beats or am I thinking completely incorrectly?

Apparently the beats logo on a phone just means they use a particular equaliser setting so it sounds different to other phones you try out in the store but may not actually have better hardware.

 

[MarkMclovin]

Beats were always more fashion statement

Just like iPhones then?

 

[faridmon]

A match made in heaven however you slice it!

 

[twobear]

Just like iPhones then?

similar to iphones, only, one revolutionised mobile communications and the way lots of people use the internet, and the other is crummy headphones

 

[Ovid]

"First billionaire in Hip-Hop"

A sale for $3.2 billion would nearly double the value of Dre’s holdings, though capital gains taxes could take a bite out of his big payday, likely leaving him with a net worth in the neighborhood of $800 million. It’s not quite enough to land on the Forbes 400, but it would easily make him hip-hop’s richest man, topping current champion Diddy by $100 million.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackoma...2b-beats-buy-would-make-dre-raps-richest-man/

A billionaire before taxes. Still a billionaire though. Crazy.

 

[Particle Physicist]

because its crap?

I bet most people who say this haven't used their equipment and just assume because they are marketed as "cool" devices. They are actually quality products, though I admit they are overpriced. The streamin service is great too.

 

[Az]

Dre Celebrating.

 

[EmiPrime]

I don't see why some of you are so upset that some people might want to wear a good looking set of headphones in the colour scheme of their choice. I'm sure many of them think that spending $80 on a limited edition videogame is a waste of money too. Live and let live.

Disclosure: I still use the earbuds that came with my old phone.

 

[Ovid]

I don't see why some of you are so upset that some people might want to wear a good looking set of headphones in the colour scheme of their choice. I'm sure many of them think that spending $80 on a limited edition videogame is a waste of money too. Live and let live.

Disclosure: I still use the earbuds that came with my old phone.

Haters gonna hate.

 

[Seth C]

Haters gonna hate.

It really doesn't seem like hate. More like confusion. As in, "why didn't you spend less money on higher quality headphones instead?" Apparently the answer is "because red".

 

[Blackstarhat]

If this deal goes Through dre will be hip hop's first billonare

 

[Mindwipe]

I don't see why some of you are so upset that some people might want to wear a good looking set of headphones in the colour scheme of their choice. I'm sure many of them think that spending $80 on a limited edition videogame is a waste of money too. Live and let live.

Disclosure: I still use the earbuds that came with my old phone.

I don't really care.

But I'm struggling to see why Apple couldn't design some sets of coloured headphones themselves for less than $3 billion. Hardware design is, y'know, their core competency.

So we are trying to figure out what Beats has, other than if Apple's music division are in a blind panic if rumours of their sales collapse are to be believed - because this has big impacts for Apple. Apple have always operated in the belief they could build their closed ecosystem, and as long as their services worked there it didn't matter if they didn't work elsewhere.

If people are abandoning iTunes for music, in part, because of price and lack of cross platform access when iTunes is DRM free and relatively portable already compared to many of Apple's other services, then that suggests there's a down part of the curve coming for their video business, and maybe even the app business. And appears like it might be scaring the living crap out of them.

 

[markot]

They are the iPhone of head phones.

 

[Atraveller]

They are the iPhone of head phones.

Wrong.

 

[raven777]

They are the iPhone of head phones.

no

 

[faridmon]

It really doesn't seem like hate. More like confusion. As in, "why didn't you spend less money on higher quality headphones instead?" Apparently the answer is "because red".

Bullshit

Spoiler

Yellow is the better colour of Beats headphone

 

[hyp]

Jay Z lost. congrats dre!

 

[markot]

Wrong.

no

I guess so. If they were the iPhone of the head phones world they would only work on apple devices with a propriety connector and control the volume for you.

 

[rezuth]

I don't really care.

But I'm struggling to see why Apple couldn't design some sets of coloured headphones themselves for less than $3 billion. Hardware design is, y'know, their core competency.

So we are trying to figure out what Beats has, other than if Apple's music division are in a blind panic if rumours of their sales collapse are to be believed - because this has big impacts for Apple. Apple have always operated in the belief they could build their closed ecosystem, and as long as their services worked there it didn't matter if they didn't work elsewhere.

If people are abandoning iTunes for music, in part, because of price and lack of cross platform access when iTunes is DRM free and relatively portable already compared to many of Apple's other services, then that suggests there's a down part of the curve coming for their video business, and maybe even the app business. And appears like it might be scaring the living crap out of them.

Apple has almost always aquired the talent they need for new expansions. Let's not forget that Siri, iTunes, Multitouch, Final Cut, Logic Pro, OS X, iWork, Maps, etc comes from Apple buying companies and the talent behind it. Apple always gets a foundation from somewhere else to make a derivative product from.

 

[EmiPrime]

I don't really care.

But I'm struggling to see why Apple couldn't design some sets of coloured headphones themselves for less than $3 billion. Hardware design is, y'know, their core competency.

So we are trying to figure out what Beats has, other than if Apple's music division are in a blind panic if rumours of their sales collapse are to be believed - because this has big impacts for Apple. Apple have always operated in the belief they could build their closed ecosystem, and as long as their services worked there it didn't matter if they didn't work elsewhere.

If people are abandoning iTunes for music, in part, because of price and lack of cross platform access when iTunes is DRM free and relatively portable already compared to many of Apple's other services, then that suggests there's a down part of the curve coming for their video business, and maybe even the app business. And appears like it might be scaring the living crap out of them.

My take:

Apple has massive amounts of cash that they have been stockpiling throughout the Steve era and Tim Cook wants to spend some of it on acquisitions. The Beats brand is strong and they have some people working there whose expertise would be good for Apple and more specifically the iTunes business. It seems like it's worth a punt.

I don't think it's any more complicated than that.

 

[Nibel]

Now bring out Detox and let Jay walk home with the L

 

[Atraveller]

I guess so. If they were the iPhone of the head phones world they would only work on apple devices with a propriety connector and control the volume for you.

Your statement is wrong because an iPhone offers a lot more than good look and higher prices.

 

[Futureman]

I guess so. If they were the iPhone of the head phones world they would only work on apple devices with a propriety connector and control the volume for you.

Dunno about iPhone of headphones, but five years ago everyone had white ear buds dangling from their ears. Now it's quite the mix with Beats probably the most common you see.

 

[Ovid]

Dunno about iPhone of headphones, but five years ago everyone had white ear buds dangling from their ears. Now it's quite the mix with Beats probably the most common you see.

No one was willing to pay close to $200 for a pair of headphones (the only exception being audiophiles).

 

[qizah]

lol smh.

 

[Bumhead]

lol smh.

:lol

No way Apple is messing around with their industrial design that much though.

My guess is there will be some sort of implementation of the streaming service (pre-installed on iPhones in the same Nike+ is?) and maybe an Apple logo attached to Beats marketing and boxes, with something completely arbitrary on it like "Better with iPhone" or some other marketing spin.

Only ever demoed the headphones myself and thought they were OK. I have a relatively cheap pair of Sennheisers which I'm in no rush to toss out, but if they broke maybe I'd consider a pair of Beats in future.

 

[TheMan]

my boy TR is gonna get paid.

 

[Ken Masters]

On repeat at Dre's house

http://youtu.be/jhenogvNrno

 

[mynameismyname]

I don't think an acquisition for "the brand" makes any sense, as last time I checked, Apple is the most valuable brand in the world by far. If they ever put out decent to good headphones with their own brand, they could probably do severe damage to Beats' bottom line.

It can't be for the streaming service either, as some people noted, since streaming right "licenses are not transferrable in case of acqusition" *

I think I usually have a fairly good understand as to what Apple is doing and why, but this acquisition leaves me thoroughly dumbfounded.

 

[corn_fest]

Feel like Apple is going to tarnish their brand by being associated with flagrantly overpriced junk. It's like buying Monster Cable.

(actually, Beats started as an offshoot of Monster iirc)
(yes, there is an too-easy "overpriced junk" joke to be made here)

 

[Fuchsdh]

maybe just to stifle competition due to their high success of itunes.

I don't think Beats was any serious threat to iTunes. Seems more likely Apple wants to use their subscription service.

I don't see any reason they'd keep the brand around, honestly.

 

[mynameismyname]

Seems more likely Apple wants to use their subscription service.

As I said, unfortunately not really an option.

(yes, there is an too-easy "overpriced junk" joke to be made here)

Which is why people have made it. Over and over. Page after page.

 

[dskillzhtown]

My take:

Apple has massive amounts of cash that they have been stockpiling throughout the Steve era and Tim Cook wants to spend some of it on acquisitions. The Beats brand is strong and they have some people working there whose expertise would be good for Apple and more specifically the iTunes business. It seems like it's worth a punt.

I don't think it's any more complicated than that.

Agreed. Even if Apple let Beats stay independent and get a portion of the profits, it is a good deal. I could see Beats sound getting integrated into some products, see some beats branded accessories like stand alone speakers. As far as sound, once Beats left Monster, the sound and build quality got alot better. Also, like them or not, Beats definitely changed the game for headphone business.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

:lol

No way Apple is messing around with their industrial design that much though.

My guess is there will be some sort of implementation of the streaming service (pre-installed on iPhones in the same Nike+ is?) and maybe an Apple logo attached to Beats marketing and boxes, with something completely arbitrary on it like "Better with iPhone" or some other marketing spin.

Apple has never done that with an acquisition in the last 14 years. The closest thing is keeping the Siri name.

 

[Mindwipe]

Apple has almost always aquired the talent they need for new expansions. Let's not forget that Siri, iTunes, Multitouch, Final Cut, Logic Pro, OS X, iWork, Maps, etc comes from Apple buying companies and the talent behind it. Apple always gets a foundation from somewhere else to make a derivative product from.

Hmm. I'm not sure that follows - some of those were a long time ago, when Apple was a very different company. The more recent ones have been very problematic, and all the ones mentioned have been for small amounts of money to get small teams who can be integrated into Apple. They've been acqui-hires.

You don't do a $3.2 acquihire for a company who's biggest skillsets aren't in engineering, but in marketing and celeb endorsements. If you want celeb endorsements just buy them, and Apple has more than enough marketing people.

My take:

Apple has massive amounts of cash that they have been stockpiling throughout the Steve era and Tim Cook wants to spend some of it on acquisitions. The Beats brand is strong and they have some people working there whose expertise would be good for Apple and more specifically the iTunes business. It seems like it's worth a punt.

I don't think it's any more complicated than that.

But one of the reasons Apple has massive piles of cash is because it hasn't made many dumb acquisitions, and they've all served a need.

This feels like something HP would do - Google Play Music and Spotify are slitting the throats of the iTunes music business and Apple seem oddly paralysed and unable to build better, so they go and buy what they can afford (which isn't the leading services) and hope throwing more money at it will make Beats bigger. But it has just as much potential to ruin them as a plucky, trendy underdog.