Its official: Apple just bought Beats for $3 Billion

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Iacobellis said:
Damn...

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Dre: "And those fools on GAF are so mad about it!"
 
Remember that skit "The Doctor's Office" off of Chronic?

That's how I picture Dre's office being like.

"I MUST see the Doctor..."
 
thefunkyman said:
Right, but if they are ONLY buying something because it says "Apple" on it, rather than because it's a quality product that's best (or at least up there) for their needs, I'd say they're foolish as well.

If a friend of yours spent $2,000 on a laptop that was worse than one that was $1,000, but they said "well I preferred the way it looks", would you not think they made a foolish decision? I would.
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At the end of the day it's their money, and ultimately their happiness. I'd think them foolish for buying what I think they wanted, rather than what they actually wanted.
 
thefunkyman said:
Right, but if they are ONLY buying something because it says "Apple" on it, rather than because it's a quality product that's best (or at least up there) for their needs, I'd say they're foolish as well.

If a friend of yours spent $2,000 on a laptop that was worse than one that was $1,000, but they said "well I preferred the way it looks", would you not think they made a foolish decision? I would.
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If they think the aesthetic is worth $1000 to them and it makes them happy, then there's nothing wrong with that.
 
thefunkyman said:
Right, but if they are ONLY buying something because it says "Apple" on it, rather than because it's a quality product that's best (or at least up there) for their needs, I'd say they're foolish as well.

If a friend of yours spent $2,000 on a laptop that was worse than one that was $1,000, but they said "well I preferred the way it looks", would you not think they made a foolish decision? I would.
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It's only "worse" in respect to a quality they explicitly value less than looks.
 
thefunkyman said:
Right, but if they are ONLY buying something because it says "Apple" on it, rather than because it's a quality product that's best (or at least up there) for their needs, I'd say they're foolish as well.

If a friend of yours spent $2,000 on a laptop that was worse than one that was $1,000, but they said "well I preferred the way it looks", would you not think they made a foolish decision? I would.
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Why would I care in the first place? It's his money and he can do with it whatever he wants. Only time I'll care is when it's my money being spent.

I guess that's the difference between the two of us, you care too much how other people spend their money. I don't care at all.
 
thefunkyman said:
Right, but if they are ONLY buying something because it says "Apple" on it, rather than because it's a quality product that's best (or at least up there) for their needs, I'd say they're foolish as well.

If a friend of yours spent $2,000 on a laptop that was worse than one that was $1,000, but they said "well I preferred the way it looks", would you not think they made a foolish decision? I would.
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I wouldn't care. Who am I to tell my friend how to spend his money?

Good on Dre. Now release Detox.
 
railGUN said:
At the end of the day it's their money, and ultimately their happiness. I'd think them foolish for buying what I think they wanted, rather than what they actually wanted.
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Sometimes people don't know what they really want.

A guy might have a trophy wife/GF who he only stays with because other men think "wow, how did you get a woman like that?", but if he's only with her because of that, I'd say he's shallow as fuck too. You might say "but it makes him happy" and you might be right, but it doesn't stop him being shallow.

When you wear headphones, you don't even see them. You don't want a pair that will make you look like a twat, but at the end of the day, if a person's top priority is "what will other people think when they see these?" then they aren't really that different to the trophy wife guy's mentality.
 
Angelus Errare said:
Dre: "And those fools on GAF are so mad about it!"
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LOL

The thing about beats is that they are as much a fashion item as they are headphones. So yeah they are a little "overpriced" if all you're looking for is a functional pair of headphones. GAF being a video game forum first, most people care about the tech inside (who's tech is better) than the appearance or any other factor. I guess that's why there are so many hardcore android users here.


Edit: see post above, lol
 
thefunkyman said:
Sometimes people don't know what they really want.

A guy might have a trophy wife/GF who he only stays with because other men think "wow, how did you get a woman like that?", but if he's only with her because of that, I'd say he's shallow as fuck too. You might say "but it makes him happy" and you might be right, but it doesn't stop him being shallow.

When you wear headphones, you don't even see them. You don't want a pair that will make you look like a twat, but at the end of the day, if a person's top priority is "what will other people think when they see these?" then they aren't really that different to the trophy wife guy's mentality.
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In terms of shit analogies on GAF goes, that's easily up there with the worst I've seen, and I've been here a loooooong time.
 
thefunkyman said:
Sometimes people don't know what they really want.

A guy might have a trophy wife/GF who he only stays with because other men think "wow, how did you get a woman like that?", but if he's only with her because of that, I'd say he's shallow as fuck too. You might say "but it makes him happy" and you might be right, but it doesn't stop him being shallow.

When you wear headphones, you don't even see them. You don't want a pair that will make you look like a twat, but at the end of the day, if a person's top priority is "what will other people think when they see these?" then they aren't really that different to the trophy wife guy's mentality.
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And yet once again the question is asked, why should I care how others spend their money on luxury items? I'm sure if you list all your electronics purchases I can point out something you paid too much for. But ultimately I really couldn't begin to care about what you spend your money on.
 
thefunkyman said:
Right, but if they are ONLY buying something because it says "Apple" on it, rather than because it's a quality product that's best (or at least up there) for their needs, I'd say they're foolish as well.
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That's not foolish, that's branding. Apple has been very very careful over the years to brand themselves as a company that releases a quality product that takes care of the needs of the everyday person - albeit at a premium. A product gets a lot of this 'status' by default without ever really having to be investigated.

When you buy something with the Apple logo you know that's what you're getting without even looking at the specs. That's pretty much the value of their brand equity at this point. Unless they start slapping Apples on boxes of raw feces - they won't have to keep making their case in the court of public opinion much the same as people will generally equate Volvo as one of the safest cars you can buy with little regard for whatever other inputs may be available. Similar to how people pretty much equate Toyota and Honda as some of the most reliable vehicles ever made and how people equate BMW and Mercedez as some of the least reliable vehicles available (see recent thread that I posted where this point is clearly illustrated).
 
Who knows, maybe Apple can take the Beats brand, which is already pretty popular, and make them into a good product for the money?

inb4 "but this is Apple we're talking about" like it's some clever joke
 
railGUN said:
In terms of shit analogies on GAF goes, that's easily up there with the worst I've seen, and I've been here a loooooong time.
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Why is it? The mentality in both cases is borne out of vanity.

Phoenix said:
Apple has been very very careful over the years to brand themselves as a company that releases a quality product that takes care of the needs of the everyday person - albeit at a premium.
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I know, but Beats aren't like that. Anyone that knows anything about headphones knows that they suck and the only defence is "but what if people like the way that they look!", when what they really mean is "I want to wear a pair of headphones that other kids look at and think 'oh, they're cool!' even if they sound like ass".
 
Wait... If Beats branding shows up on my next iPhone or version of iOS, then I will officially declare that Apple has lost their mind. I hope it doesn't happen like it did on HP and HTC products, but a small percent of me think it could.
 
thefunkyman said:
Why is it? The mentality in both cases is borne out of vanity.
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I mean, you don't buy a "trophy wife" from the store. They don't cost double a normal wife. They are people, not inanimate objects, to name a few... but ultimately, you suggested he bought the laptop because he liked how it looked, not because of how others would view him (and not the object). So it's flawed in many respects.
 
thefunkyman said:
I know, but Beats aren't like that. Anyone that knows anything about headphones knows that they suck and the only defence is "but what if people like the way that they look!".
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Again the average consumer doesn't.give.a.fuck. People bought iPods like fucking crazy despite the fact there were superior products on the shelves that played a wider variety of audio files with better quality. You seem to purposefully ignore this, or perhaps you are indeed that daft.

The people who know anything about headphones aren't buying Beats in the first place so what is the problem exactly?
 
So wait... they don't intend to absorb the company but have it as a separate entity?

Well now this purchase sounds very un-Apple like... i thought they needed them (aside from the subscribers of the streaming service) for some forms of patent or technologies to build a future product but it seems they bought them just to be a money farm.
Yeah i don't like this sincerely, not one bit.
 
sprsk said:
LOL

The thing about beats is that they are as much a fashion item as they are headphones. So yeah they are a little "overpriced" if all you're looking for is a functional pair of headphones. GAF being a video game forum first, most people care about the tech inside (who's tech is better) than the appearance or any other factor. I guess that's why there are so many hardcore android users here.


Edit: see post above, lol
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LeleSocho said:
So wait... they don't intend to absorb the company but have it as a separate entity?

Well now this purchase sounds very un-Apple like... i thought they needed them (aside from the subscribers of the streaming service) for some forms of patent or technologies to build a future product but it seems they bought them just to be a money farm.
Yeah i don't like this sincerely, not one bit.
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Apple is buying a fashionable brand that commands 70% of the high-end headphones market, not a technology.
 
thefunkyman said:
Why is it? The mentality in both cases is borne out of vanity.


I know, but Beats aren't like that. Anyone that knows anything about headphones knows that they suck and the only defence is "but what if people like the way that they look!", when what they really mean is "I want to wear a pair of headphones that other kids look at and think 'oh, they're cool!' even if they sound like ass".
Click to expand...

Quality doesn't always mean top performance.
 
thefunkyman said:
Why is it? The mentality in both cases is borne out of vanity.


I know, but Beats aren't like that. Anyone that knows anything about headphones knows that they suck and the only defence is "but what if people like the way that they look!".
Click to expand...

I guarantee that this will be big bank takes little bank. The future headphones will be Apple headphones "powered by Beats" and even if Apple has done nothing more than slap a sticker over the Beats logo - people will think that they are better because they trust that the brand wouldn't give them crap. Apple will show a 30 minute video of how they've reengineered the Beats headphones with the help of Beats, a bunch of music personalities will use/wear them, and the die will be cast. Beats as a "brand" benefits a shit load more than Apple does in that regard, but it does give them a nice accessory in a space where people may suspect that the Beats headphones aren't the best - but these same people are going every single day wearing the stock headphones that come with their iPhone/iPod.
 
railGUN said:
but ultimately, you suggested he bought the laptop because he liked how it looked, not because of how others would view him (and not the object). So it's flawed in many respects.
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I didn't even mention laptops in that post. Are you telling me that nobody buys Beats headphones because they think "people will think I'm cool when I'm seen wearing these!", which they put above things that are more important in a pair of headphones, such as sound quality? Vanity is a big driver for many Beats headphones owners. If it wasn't, they simply wouldn't have bought them.

People don't like to admit that they're shallow, that they're vain, that they're easily swayed by brand names and marketing. It doesn't change the fact that they are though.
 
Aquamarine said:
Apple is buying a fashionable brand that commands 70% of the high-end headphones market, not a technology.
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Well, it will be interesting to see what they do with Beats Music. Maybe they combine it with iTunes and try to take out Spotify.

They also bought music industry connections and acumen.

But yeah, the market share of the headphones/brand will produce the most immediate results.
 
Phoenix said:
I guarantee that this will be big bank takes little bank. The future headphones will be Apple headphones "powered by Beats" and even if Apple has done nothing more than slap a sticker over the Beats logo - people will think that they are better because they trust that the brand wouldn't give them crap. Apple will show a 30 minute video of how they've reengineered the Beats headphones with the help of Beats, a bunch of music personalities will use/wear them, and the die will be cast. Beats as a "brand" benefits a shit load more than Apple does in that regard, but it does give them a nice accessory in a space where people may suspect that the Beats headphones aren't the best - but these same people are going every single day wearing the stock headphones that come with their iPhone/iPod.
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Yes! Oh god please let this happen! I want to see Dre in this video.

"Yea, I spoke with my boy Jonny Ive and told him 'I want to make these headphones even better'; so we went to the lap with a pencil and pad and made sure these damn headphones took off!"
 
LeleSocho said:
So wait... they don't intend to absorb the company but have it as a separate entity?

Well now this purchase sounds very un-Apple like... i thought they needed them (aside from the subscribers of the streaming service) for some forms of patent or technologies to build a future product but it seems they bought them just to be a money farm.
Yeah i don't like this sincerely, not one bit.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the post-Jobs era where acquisitions look more "Google-like" similar to most major cash heavy corporations. They will continue to let Beats operate as its own thing because there isn't much reason to disrupt that brand in that particular space - much the same way that Waze still operates as its own entity but feeds Google Maps.
 
KHarvey16 said:
That doesn't seem to be the case at all given the note from Tim Cook.
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Can you give me an heads up about that? Maybe i didn't understand shit.

Phoenix said:
Welcome to the post-Jobs era where acquisitions look more "Google-like" similar to most major cash heavy corporations. They will continue to let Beats operate as its own thing because there isn't much reason to disrupt that brand in that particular space - much the same way that Waze still operates as its own entity but feeds Google Maps.
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That's exactly what i'm scared about. The last thing i want is Apple becoming a more cocky version Google.
 
thefunkyman said:
I didn't even mention laptops in that post. Are you telling me that nobody buys Beats headphones because they think "people will think I'm cool when I'm seen wearing these!", which they put above things that are more important in a pair of headphones, such as sound quality? Vanity is a big driver for many Beats headphones owners. If it wasn't, they simply wouldn't have bought them.
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The entire exchange was about you thinking your friend foolish for buying a $2000 computer that was outclassed by a $1000 computer because he liked the look of it.

I don't care why people buy things. Period. You're the one being vain.
 
thefunkyman said:
I didn't even mention laptops in that post. Are you telling me that nobody buys Beats headphones because they think "people will think I'm cool when I'm seen wearing these!", which they put above things that are more important in a pair of headphones, such as sound quality? Vanity is a big driver for many Beats headphones owners. If it wasn't, they simply wouldn't have bought them.

People don't like to admit that they're shallow, that they're vain, that they're easily swayed by brand names and marketing. It doesn't change the fact that they are though.
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Bose is all I'll say about the conversation you guys are having. Bose is the highest of the high end sound systems and people know the brand for exactly that - crazy expensive but one that is SUPPOSED to have the best sound... though many people in the audio community sternly reject that premise. I'll bet if you surveyed 10 people on the street they will tell you that Beats headphones sound better than other headphones - that's the branding case they've made and its not going anywhere even though I believe they suck ass compared to a good set of Senns.
 
LeleSocho said:
Can you give me an heads up about that? Maybe i didn't understand shit.
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Here's the note:

Team,

This afternoon we announced that Apple is acquiring Beats Music and Beats Electronics, two fast-growing businesses which complement our product line and will help extend the Apple ecosystem in the future. Bringing our companies together paves the way for amazing developments which our customers will love.

Music is an important part of our lives and our culture. Music has the power to inspire us, to comfort us, and to send our emotions soaring. It brings people together and transcends the limits of spoken language.

Apple’s history in music began with selling Macs to musicians. That remains important to us today, but we also bring music to hundreds of millions of customers with iTunes, which is at the forefront of the digital music revolution. Music holds a special place in our hearts at Apple, and we know that we can make an even bigger contribution to something that is so important to our society. That’s why we have kept investing in music and why we’re bringing together these extraordinary teams — so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.

Beats co-founders and music industry pioneers Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple, along with their team of employees. Jimmy has been on the cutting edge of innovation in the music industry for decades, including as a key partner for Apple in the launch of the iTunes Music Store more than ten years ago. He has produced or collaborated with some of the most popular artists in history, and been an important contributor to the success of the iTunes Store.

Beats Music was built with deep respect for both artists and fans. We think it’s the first subscription service to really get it right. Both Apple and Beats believe that a great music service requires a strong editorial and curation team, and we will continue to expand what we do in those areas. The addition of Beats will make our incredible iTunes lineup even better, extending the emotional connection our customers have with music.

The Beats Music team will report to Eddy. The teams will be getting to know each other better in the weeks ahead, and we are very excited about the possibilities for the future.

Beats Electronics has become the brand of choice for headphones and speakers in both the music and sports world, just five years after its launch. They are among the most popular and highest-rated third-party products sold today in Apple’s retail and online stores. We see an incredible opportunity to bring Apple’s legendary design and engineering capabilities to these popular products under Phil’s leadership.

Please join me in welcoming Beats to Apple. I hope you are as excited as I am about this new chapter in our history.

Tim
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railGUN said:
The entire exchange was about you thinking your friend foolish for buying a $2000 computer that was outclassed by a $1000 computer because he liked the look of it.
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Nothing in the post where I made that analogy mentioned laptops. I've been replying to different people.

Answer the question - do you think that many Beats owners buy them because they think "people will think I will look cool in these!"?

railGUN said:
I don't care why people buy things. Period. You're the one being vain.
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Can you explain to me why I'm being vain? I don't buy headphones based on what other people will think of how they look. I'm asserting that many Beats owners did just that, given that they don't see the headphones when they're wearing them and they could have bought a much better sounding pair for less money. Caring more about your own appearance than the quality of the audio being piped into your ears implies vanity, does it not?
 
Phoenix said:
Welcome to the post-Jobs era where acquisitions look more "Google-like" similar to most major cash heavy corporations. They will continue to let Beats operate as its own thing because there isn't much reason to disrupt that brand in that particular space - much the same way that Waze still operates as its own entity but feeds Google Maps.
Click to expand...

This acquisition does seem unbefitting of the kind of corporate strategy that Steve Jobs would make.

But Apple is such a cash-rich company that $3 billion really is just a drop in the bucket to them. This is such a minor acquisition in the scheme of things.

I guess, besides continuing to proliferate in the high-end headphones market, it's a simple way to enhance the existing "high quality" Apple branding and lure more people into the Apple ecosystem.

Phoenix said:
I guarantee that this will be big bank takes little bank. The future headphones will be Apple headphones "powered by Beats" and even if Apple has done nothing more than slap a sticker over the Beats logo - people will think that they are better because they trust that the brand wouldn't give them crap. Apple will show a 30 minute video of how they've reengineered the Beats headphones with the help of Beats, a bunch of music personalities will use/wear them, and the die will be cast. Beats as a "brand" benefits a shit load more than Apple does in that regard, but it does give them a nice accessory in a space where people may suspect that the Beats headphones aren't the best - but these same people are going every single day wearing the stock headphones that come with their iPhone/iPod.
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I really do think they can leverage the Beats brand in that fashion beyond just letting the company grow.
 
It's official: Jony Ive's team will be designing these joints

http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/28/beats-parts-ways-with-design-firm-as-apple-takes-over-its-hardware/

Over the next few months, the design for Beats will transition away from Ammunition. It’s tough to step down as Chief Designer for a brand I take so much pride in, but it certainly makes it easier knowing we are handing the reigns over to one of the world’s most successful design teams.
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http://www.ammunitiongroup.com/work/1922-2/

HYPE!

2376052-1282217024-Get_h.gif
 
thefunkyman said:
Answer the question - do you think that many Beats owners buy them because they think "people will think I will look cool in these!"?
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I honestly don't consider these kinds of things usually. I assume they bought them because they wanted them. If that is because they want people to think they look cool, who fucking cares. ?
 
Liu Kang Baking A Pie said:
This is the stupidest thing to care so much about.
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I'm idling away time posting on a forum. I really don't care that much - I'm just responding to people that are responding to me. Why didn't you answer the question though? Do own a pair of Beats? What made you choose them over better sounding ones that were cheaper, but still looked perfectly fine?
 
thefunkyman said:
I'm idling away time posting on a forum. I really don't care that much - I'm just responding to people that are responding to me. Why didn't you answer the question though? Do own a pair of Beats? What made you choose them over better sounding ones that were cheaper, but still looked perfectly fine?
Click to expand...
If you don't care that much, stop doubling down on this. It's an absurd line of questioning and assumption.
 
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