In doing research on the headphone market, the decision to purchase Beats has finally become clear: Apple wanted to make waves in the audio industry yet again, and purchased a company that already has 64% of the $100+ headphone marketshare to do so. Since they have purchased Beats, the company has been releasing products that sound significantly superior to the atrocities of the brand's past. They have since earned top spots on audiophile reviewers' sites, and sound surprisingly like quality headphones. Don't believe me? Try out an in-store demo and compare it to pre-Apple acquisition Beats headphones. The new Solo2s sound genuinely good, and the new Bluetooth models are receiving rave reviews.
Everybody wins in this acquisition. Apple gets a brand with no technology of its own, yet one that has dominated the headphone market. They know first-hand how difficult it is to gain traction in the premium headphones market, many years ago releasing $79 premium in-ear headphones that were not popular enough to stick around. Instead of competing against Beats with Apple headphones, Apple already owns the market. The consumers that believe the marketing hype and purchase Beats are finally receiving headphones that even audiophiles are labeling as very good for $200, despite how they are nowhere near the best value in the industry. Beats now has a clear place in the headphone world and will stick around for a long time, while increasing quality gradually over time eventually becoming an audiophile brand rather than a label.
Even the purchase price is not as questionable once it is realized that Beats generated about $1.5 billion of revenue last year.
Apple purchased an established brand for no other reason than that fact. It was not a technology play, but a marketing and marketshare play. It is almost like Apple was the mis-informed consumer that purchased Beats for the brand name a year ago. Except now, Apple is quietly turning Beats into an audibly-unrecognizable premium brand with quality audio and in the process is laughing all the way to the bank.
Everybody wins in this acquisition. Apple gets a brand with no technology of its own, yet one that has dominated the headphone market. They know first-hand how difficult it is to gain traction in the premium headphones market, many years ago releasing $79 premium in-ear headphones that were not popular enough to stick around. Instead of competing against Beats with Apple headphones, Apple already owns the market. The consumers that believe the marketing hype and purchase Beats are finally receiving headphones that even audiophiles are labeling as very good for $200, despite how they are nowhere near the best value in the industry. Beats now has a clear place in the headphone world and will stick around for a long time, while increasing quality gradually over time eventually becoming an audiophile brand rather than a label.
Even the purchase price is not as questionable once it is realized that Beats generated about $1.5 billion of revenue last year.
Apple purchased an established brand for no other reason than that fact. It was not a technology play, but a marketing and marketshare play. It is almost like Apple was the mis-informed consumer that purchased Beats for the brand name a year ago. Except now, Apple is quietly turning Beats into an audibly-unrecognizable premium brand with quality audio and in the process is laughing all the way to the bank.
