1. Profitable headphone brand which financially justifies the purchase.
2. Streaming service which can be used to improve iTunes Radio, provides revenue source from other OS users without diluting the Apple brand.
3. They got one of the most successful marketing teams of all time, one that got people to pay a premium for Air Jordans and Beats headphones. The Air Jordan example is particularly telling, because they didn't do anything better than regular shoes, but people wanted them. Can you see where something Apple is launching soon might benefit from that?
Beats headphones are not audiophile grade, it's true. I don't think they've ever claimed to be, they've claimed to be playback headphones, not reference headphones. And they're still a darn sight better than the headphones/earbuds most people were using beforehand, including the EarPods.
As for the story, as Iovine said, this just adds to Beats's brand cachet.
My issue with Apple purchasing Beats is: to me Beats is exactly what the haters claim Apple is - style over substance, overpriced, marketing driven. I use Apple products because I think they're superior to the competition, not because famous people are seen using them.
My issue with Apple purchasing Beats is: to me Beats is exactly what the haters claim Apple is - style over substance, overpriced, marketing driven. I use Apple products because I think they're superior to the competition, not because famous people are seen using them.
Right on. Except the haters are wrong. Apple products are technically superior in every way.
Not so with these plastic craptastic headphones. It's like the hip hop sneaker BS. In fact Nike should have bought Beats.
Everytime (almost) I see a comment about something, he (assuming here) is bitching about something. And then someone else writes back that he has a right to his opinion (who says). Go to opinion.com ... everything "blows"... guess what paz? you do too!
Listen I understand pazuzu compels you to hurl profanities at him but you've got to stop. It's unhealthy for you and all your rage to be manifested in something you know deep down Inside is right.
it's funny, I can predict the username of any Likes to your comments. birds of a feather, troll together...
Actually, I have to admit that the Bose sports in-ear headphones are the best headphones out there for running and other sports activities. I've tried many, many brands of sports earbuds over the years. Up until this year, the best I ever owned were Sennheisers, but even those would frequently fall out of my ears and were not super comfortable. The Bose phones use some sort of magic substance to stay locked in your ear no matter how much you bounce around and no matter how much you sweat. The sound is very good. Not the best, maybe, but very good.
I resisted buying these phones for ages because I have always been strongly anti-Bose (I own some pretty high-end audio gear and have a low opinion of Bose products generally). However, if you are looking for headphones for exercise, you can't beat these.
I'll also add that they are the best earbuds/microphones for phone calls on my iPhone too. The sound quality in both directions is outstanding and the feedback volume is just right.
Right so by that rationale Apple should buy TMZ for its programming too.
TMZ's product is as natural a fit as headphones are for phones. nor do they have a successful streaming service. nor product and marketing rock stars, who are actual stars.
Who is this pazuzu jerk?
Everytime (almost) I see a comment about something, he (assuming here) is bitching about something. And then someone else writes back that he has a right to his opinion (who says). Go to opinion.com ... everything "blows"... guess what paz? you do too!
Not everything blows - just Beats. And you just stated your own opinion.
There are plenty of brands for "serious" audiophiles ... The technical merits of these brands are irrelevant.
How many watch brands are just a cheap chinese mechanism with a "brand" like gucci plastered on it? Those are made for about $10 or less and sell at retail for $200 plus.
The name of the game is upselling through "style".
If Samsung or Google had purchased a Beats people here would have been laughing their asses off making fun of them buying a crappy headphone company with a mediocre streaming service. Apple buys them and it's a a no brainer, brilliant stroke of genius. :rolleyes:
Right on. Except the haters are wrong. Apple products are technically superior in every way.
Not so with these plastic craptastic headphones. It's like the hip hop sneaker BS. In fact Nike should have bought Beats.
The definition of superior is often not what an external observer decides it is; it's what those who are spending their money decide it is. For example, there's nothing I'd call superior about a Coach purse compared with a saddlebag designed to fit a Harley Davidson Fat Boy Lo. The saddlebag has a more sturdy construction, it's masculine sitting there on my bike, and it carries more stuff than a Coach purse, but it's doubtful I'd get many women to prefer one to the purse. Those Beats headphones are superior to the needs of those who purchase them, from the way they reproduce music to the way they look to other intangible aspects. Not grokking this is what leads people to wonder what Apple would want with this part of the Beats business. It's pretty clear to me.
When I see people wearing Beats I don't think 'This guy knows about good sound, cool, ' I think this guy just paid all that $ for trendy junk'.
I hope Apple bought Beats for more than the 'phones.
I'm often referred to as Radar. I guess I should have taken that username while it was available. I hope I'm not going to have to follow you around reminding people you're not me. Or vice versa! Lol!
Edit: holy cow, I see you joined in 2005, a full seven years before me. I guess I'm the interloper here. Oops.
Comments
My issue with Apple purchasing Beats is: to me Beats is exactly what the haters claim Apple is - style over substance, overpriced, marketing driven. I use Apple products because I think they're superior to the competition, not because famous people are seen using them.
They should've fined Frank Gore for that shirt, good God.
Right on. Except the haters are wrong. Apple products are technically superior in every way.
Not so with these plastic craptastic headphones. It's like the hip hop sneaker BS. In fact Nike should have bought Beats.
Because it's connected to the most important consumer tech brand on the planet.
Who is this pazuzu jerk?
Everytime (almost) I see a comment about something, he (assuming here) is bitching about something. And then someone else writes back that he has a right to his opinion (who says). Go to opinion.com ... everything "blows"... guess what paz? you do too!
it's funny, I can predict the username of any Likes to your comments. birds of a feather, troll together...
consumer audio quality is mostly subjective.
and Beats does annual revenue of $1B+ with high margins. that's a sound investment. dur
Right so by that rationale Apple should buy TMZ for its programming too.
Actually, I have to admit that the Bose sports in-ear headphones are the best headphones out there for running and other sports activities. I've tried many, many brands of sports earbuds over the years. Up until this year, the best I ever owned were Sennheisers, but even those would frequently fall out of my ears and were not super comfortable. The Bose phones use some sort of magic substance to stay locked in your ear no matter how much you bounce around and no matter how much you sweat. The sound is very good. Not the best, maybe, but very good.
I resisted buying these phones for ages because I have always been strongly anti-Bose (I own some pretty high-end audio gear and have a low opinion of Bose products generally). However, if you are looking for headphones for exercise, you can't beat these.
I'll also add that they are the best earbuds/microphones for phone calls on my iPhone too. The sound quality in both directions is outstanding and the feedback volume is just right.
still haven't accepted it, have you.
you on Beats is like sog on GTA...
TMZ's product is as natural a fit as headphones are for phones. nor do they have a successful streaming service. nor product and marketing rock stars, who are actual stars.
Not everything blows - just Beats. And you just stated your own opinion.
I hope Apple bought Beats for more than the 'phones.
How many watch brands are just a cheap chinese mechanism with a "brand" like gucci plastered on it? Those are made for about $10 or less and sell at retail for $200 plus.
The name of the game is upselling through "style".
The definition of superior is often not what an external observer decides it is; it's what those who are spending their money decide it is. For example, there's nothing I'd call superior about a Coach purse compared with a saddlebag designed to fit a Harley Davidson Fat Boy Lo. The saddlebag has a more sturdy construction, it's masculine sitting there on my bike, and it carries more stuff than a Coach purse, but it's doubtful I'd get many women to prefer one to the purse. Those Beats headphones are superior to the needs of those who purchase them, from the way they reproduce music to the way they look to other intangible aspects. Not grokking this is what leads people to wonder what Apple would want with this part of the Beats business. It's pretty clear to me.
I'm often referred to as Radar. I guess I should have taken that username while it was available. I hope I'm not going to have to follow you around reminding people you're not me. Or vice versa! Lol!
Edit: holy cow, I see you joined in 2005, a full seven years before me. I guess I'm the interloper here. Oops.
Iovine is already in on product placement.
Haven't you noticed all the articles about NFL players wearing Beats headphones? That's product placement.
Funny... I haven't seen any articles about NFL players wearing Bose headphones... even though Bose is supposedly a sponsor of the NFL.
Weird.