Beats Acquisition Boosting Apple's 'Coolness' Factor Among Young Consumers

Lightning Port Headphone

The only reason for the acquisition is a real push towards a better listening experience. I'm pretty sure that apple has been actively looking for ways to shrink the iPhone more. One way is by getting rid of the 3.5 mm jack. When iPhone 6 is announced and some new super high quality sound standard is also announced, Beats will be the only alternative to apple to buy a lightning port headphone. They will make their money back on the acquisition so quick. The headphones will also have a touch of Apple to their style design and sound standard. Should be a fun summer for apple. Can't wait for the watch or the TV

Treebs said:

I'm pretty sure that apple has been actively looking for ways to shrink the iPhone more. One way is by getting rid of the 3.5 mm jack.

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That would be a pretty dumb move imo, because it would prevent you from using any other headphones than Apple's.

I really want to know what Steve would have thought about this 'coolness boosting' acquisition..

subsonix said:

That would be a pretty dumb move imo, because it would prevent you from using any other headphones than Apple's.

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Apple fanboys would eat it up though and say it's a worthwhile trade off for slimmer devices or a bigger battery

I hope it boosts "coolness" because it certainly doesn't make financial sense...

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...e-inc-merely-put-beats-out-of-its-misery.aspx

bluboi917 said:

I am a 43 old musician in the music business for about 20 years now. I've done studio and live stage work using some of the finest audiophile equipment ever made. I have in the time both used and owned headphones made by the likes of AKG, Sony, Sennheiser, Bose, Klipsch, etc. i can say without a doubt that as far as sound quality my Beats Pro headphones rank right of there with most high end headphones at its price range. I think what most people who are critical of Beats fail to keep in mind is that judging headphone quality is a matter of objectivity.

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If you consider yourself old just at 43, you 1) did way too many drugs, 2) hang around too many younger insecure player that call you old since they fear your talent or 3) are not sleeping with enough girls half your age you meet from gigs.

chirpie said:

Hmmm, I'm skeptical. I thought this younger generation was less concerned with 'cool factor' than ever before. (More cynical towards typical marketing.)

Heck, even the phrase 'cool factor' makes my eyes roll.

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Same here. I seriously roll my eyes at most ads.

cdmoore74 said:

What? Apple has been doing this from the beginning of time.
1. Look at the build cost vs. retail.
2. Apple was still selling the ancient iPhone 4 to India and they still had iPad 2 on shelves for $399 not to long ago.
3. Look at the ridiculous price of USB cables and the plan to stop cheaper knockoffs from hitting the market.

Apple and Beats was made for each other; in a bad way.

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Point taken, but Apple at least has quality products. Beats just aren't quality.

Apple bought beats for the streaming service, the quality of the product was of little consequence. There are people that only purchase things based on what's the trend, which explains beats popularity. The acquisition was smart, the iPhone is becoming a soccer mom and old guy device whether you want to admit it or not. Apple sees the trend which explains the size change. The days of androids and Apple being hugely different are gone, pick up an iPhone and a similarly priced android and you can see its becoming very similar and moving in a direction of being even more similar. Any company will do what it has to do to make money, they see any customer as money, they have no loyalty and serve no greater purpose. The kids love beats so apple loves beats. If the the kids loved another overpriced headphone instead of beats with a streaming service, they would have bought them.