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Apple wants to buy Beats

Z

zinnah

Active Member
Just heard a very credible rumor on Financial Times that Apple is in negotiations to buy Beats for 3.2 billion. Deal could be done in a week or so according to Financial Times.

Wonder if any good could come of this or if it is Lucifer joining forces with The Wicked Witch of the West.
 
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Yep, just saw it too.

Apple is closing in on its largest ever acquisition with the planned $3.2bn purchase of Beats Electronics, the headphone maker and music streaming operator founded by Jimmy Iovine and the hip-hop star Dr Dre.

The deal could be announced as early as next week, people familiar with the negotiations said, but they cautioned that some details had yet to be agreed and talks could still fall apart, write Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles and Tim Bradshaw in San Francisco.

A deal of this scale would represent a radical departure for Tim Cook, chief executive of the iPhone maker: under the late Steve Jobs, Apple was reluctant to pursue high-profile acquisitions.

Apple will acquire Beats' streaming music service, which launched this year, and its audio equipment business, which includes its brand of headphones and audio equipment.
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Well it is all about the money of course. I do like a lot of Apple products in general, but Beats, think they are one of the worst sounding headphones around. But I imagine they have done a lot for the whole headphone/portable side of things, so it isn't all bad.
 
But the Beats headphones look awesome.

It's about the looks and physical street-cred a pair of Dr Beats headphones offers the wearer. It's not about the quality of the sound they produce.
 
Actually, Beats makes a bunch of different models and out of curiosity I tried on a few different ones at BB recently and was pleasantly surprised to find that one particular model was better than I expected. Not great mind you but not awful either.

Any deal with Apple would also have a lot to do with the streaming services at least I would guess.
 
Strange way for Apple to expand..... Into the portable audio market.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
Ok, we get it. Everyone here knows the quality of Beats products and how that quality stacks up against the price.

I fully support the potential for an even greater streaming service.
 
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RamblinE said:
Strange way for Apple to expand..... Into the portable audio market.
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Well, they're also buying out a potential competitor. Apple kows that the iPod has no future, and streaming, which Beats has entered into with a bang, is cutting deeply into iTunes Store sales.

They see Bose, Samsung and especially Sonos making a lot of money on wi-fi speakers connected to those streaming services.

Beats makes some popular Bluetooth speakers, which Apple could easily update to use its superior Airplay service at minimal cost.

The Beats founders have a lot of cred with musicians, apparently.

Who knows what's really driving the decision, just doing some guessing.
 
chicks said:
Well, they're also buying out a potential competitor. Apple kows that the iPod has no future, and streaming, which Beats has entered into with a bang, is cutting deeply into iTunes Store sales.

They see Bose, Samsung and especially Sonos making a lot of money on wi-fi speakers connected to those streaming services.

Beats makes some popular Bluetooth speakers, which Apple could easily update to use its superior Airplay service at minimal cost.

The Beats founders have a lot of cred with musicians, apparently.

Who knows what's really driving the decision, just doing some guessing.
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Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but didn't Beats have some trouble entering streaming?

Whatever the case is, it would be cool if Apple does decide to update their devices using Airplay, rather than Bluetooth.
 
SimplyOrange said:
Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but didn't Beats have some trouble entering streaming?

Whatever the case is, it would be cool if Apple does decide to update their devices using Airplay, rather than Bluetooth.
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I think the problems were mostly with their browser UI. Their primary streaming target is smart phones, not PCs. iTunes requires a PC; streaming just needs a smart phone and earphones or speakers, another thing Apple must be losing sleep over as PC sales have fallen off a cliff...
 
chicks said:
I think the problems were mostly with their browser UI. Their primary streaming target is smart phones, not PCs. iTunes requires a PC; streaming just needs a smart phone and earphones or speakers, another thing Apple must be losing sleep over as PC sales have fallen off a cliff...
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Oh okay I see.

People with their smart phones...geez...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
chicks said:
I think the problems were mostly with their browser UI. Their primary streaming target is smart phones, not PCs. iTunes requires a PC; streaming just needs a smart phone and earphones or speakers, another thing Apple must be losing sleep over as PC sales have fallen off a cliff...
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I'm confused! Are you saying that Apple's bottom line is dependent on the PC market? While iTunes is PC dependent, iPads and iPhones have not required iTunes in quite awhile.
 
BayouTiger said:
I'm confused! Are you saying that Apple's bottom line is dependent on the PC market? While iTunes is PC dependent, iPads and iPhones have not required iTunes in quite awhile.
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So how do I get music files from the iTunes store to my 'droid phone or tablet without a PC? Lots more 'droid devices out there than IOS...

Why would I pay 99 cents a tune, then have to go through a clunky sync process, when I can stream for $10 per month? (I wouldn't, and certainly havent). Apple has to realize that the iTunes store ain't where it's at any more...
 
chicks said:
So how do I get music files from the iTunes store to my 'droid phone or tablet without a PC? Lots more 'droid devices out there than IOS...

Why would I pay 99 cents a tune, then have to go through a clunky sync process, when I can stream for $10 per month? (I wouldn't, and certainly havent). Apple has to realize that the iTunes store ain't where it's at any more...
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Just out of curiosity, is the audio quality the same for most streaming services and the iTunes store?

Also, aren't some artists unavailable through streaming services (as of now anyway)?
 
chicks said:
So how do I get music files from the iTunes store to my 'droid phone or tablet without a PC? Lots more 'droid devices out there than IOS...

Why would I pay 99 cents a tune, then have to go through a clunky sync process, when I can stream for $10 per month? (I wouldn't, and certainly havent). Apple has to realize that the iTunes store ain't where it's at any more...
Click to expand...

There is an iTunes Store on iOS if you want to buy, or you use MOG, Spotify, Pamdora, or any other service. I'm not sure there is any streaming service out there that can't be accessed by an iOS device - no computer necessary. For that matter, since I do have a Mac, I pay $25/year and stream everything I do have in iTunes to my iOS devices and don't sync anything, and my devices are never connected to the Mac.

Yes there are more droid devices, but the revenue generated by purchases on them is minuscule compared to the Apple devices.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of FUD when it comes to Apple devices for many non users. Many think that how it was done in 2005 is how it is today. Just like the single button mouse and iTunes songs having DRM!
 
You missed the point. Apple makes it easy for Apple devices, but difficult for 'droid devices. Ergo, 'droid users are not likely to use the iTunes store. There are a lot more 'droid users, growing every day. Apple knows that, and will have an entry into that huge user base via Beats. They will have to figue out a way to make it as easy for 'droid users to make purchases from them as IOS users can now. Or not.
 
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