A timely move, Beats — now owned by Apple — has been sued by Bose. The litigation is said to revolve around noise canceling headphones. Details are sketchy, but it’s a potentially devastating blow to Beats’ hardware division.
While Apple has worked with creative agency TBWA Media Labs for decades, this week it’s suggested that they may be ready to move on. With Beats under their wing, Apple is said to be pushing for a new direction in the audiovisual elements they present to the public in the form of advertisements and billboards and everything in-between. "Shortlist" is the word, and one of the list members appears to be Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine.
Facing off against the Miami Heat this week were the San Antonio Spurs, finding victory in five games to take the NBA championship. Viewers of the program on ESPN will have seen a brand new video spot from [soon to be owned by Apple] Beats Music. This spot was a small teaser for already-released Beats-sponsored film "Game Before The Game", also included below.
In the wake of Apple’s purchase of Beats by Dre, Google has been tipped to be in talks to acquire the music streaming service Songza. While Google already has a streaming music service in its Google Play Music library and delivery system, the company may be looking for a way to compete with Apple’s oncoming integration of Beats Music curation into their music delivery system(s). Songza may be the answer Google needs.
Certainly a coincidence with the recent acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics, Apple has this week revealed a new MFi specification for Lightning Headphones. The Made for iPhone program allows businesses to release their electronics with a fancy stamp that also potentially allows them to have said products in Apple Stores. In this case, Lightning Cable MFi specifications connect with headphones for high-quality audio.
Today in a demonstration of how OS X Yosemite was able to use an iPhone as a relay to make phone calls, Apple made a call to Dr. Dre. His phone number - almost certainly a single-use number - called up Dre on stage. "Hey how you doing, this is Dre," said Dre, "I'm glad you called. I heard Tim gets in early — what time should I show up for work."
Beats Music will continue to be available for Android and Windows Phone devices even after Apple completes its Beats purchase, it's been confirmed, while HP will get a grace period to continue baking the audio tech into its products. While there had been speculation that Apple's Beats buy was predominantly motivated by wanting to grab Beats Music, and that it would make the service an exclusive for iPhone and iPad users only, Apple's Eddy Cue denied that would be the case.
Now that Apple has Beats under their wing, some are searching for answers. Did they covet Beats’ headphones? Was it a quick grab to get a streaming music offering? The answer to both is probably a firm “yes”, but when it comes to Apple’s music offerings, the proof is in the numbers.
Though Apple will operate Beats independently of the company proper, things will definitely be changing. Beats’ iconic designs have been thanks to design firm Ammunition, who designed everything from the Pro to the Pill. Now that Apple has snatched up Beats, they’ll be handling the hardware as well, leaving Ammunition out in the cold.
The acquisition of Beats by Apple was not about shutting down a rival company, nor was it about grabbing patents. Apple didn’t intent on purchasing Beats because they wanted good designers or because they didn’t already have good enough headphones themselves. Instead, this purchase was the first in Apple’s public transformation into a company that isn’t forced to retain its excellence by strict regulation of hardware and software. Now begins Apple’s diversification.
In an attempt to get a “headstart”, Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed the company is purchasing Beats. He also says Apple will spend $3 billion for Beats, the largest acquisition ever for Apple. This ends weeks of speculation, giving us the answers we’ve been so curious to know.
All the fanfare over Apple buying Beats, and it turns out Apple wasn’t even done researching the company when we first heard of it. A new report from the New York Post suggests Apple was still doing their due diligence when news of the proposed acquisition leaked. The report also suggests Apple has reduced their offer for Beats on the back of poor streaming subscriber numbers.