After Beats Electronics and Music scored $3 billion when it became part of Apple, not everyone was happy. A former partner of Beats executives Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, for one, who sued the pair in 2015, claiming they’d swindled him out of money that should’ve been his. A judge has now dismissed key claims in the former partner’s lawsuit. [More]
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Beats By Dr. Dre Headphones From $17 Teardown Were Actually Counterfeit
By 7.13.15
Hey, remember when we shared a post where an expert took apart a set of Beats headphones and estimated that the parts they contained were worth maybe 17 bucks? Those were fun times. The story proved our suspicions about pricey electronics, and didn’t really surprise anyone. Guess what, though? Those headphones were fakes. [More]
Teardown: Beats Headphones Contain Less Than $17 Worth Of Parts
By 6.19.15
What’s really in a $200 pair of Beats headphones? According to a teardown by venture capital firm Bolt, about $16.89 worth of parts. They found a device mostly made out of injection-molded plastic, pieces of metal that serve no purpose other than to make the headphones feel heavier than they really are, and a whole lot of glue. [Medium] (via Gizmodo — thanks, Rowell!) UPDATE: These headphones turned out to be counterfeits, but the components of the real ones aren’t worth much more. [More]
Apple Revokes “Made For iPhone” License For Monster Headphones
By 6.17.15
There’s nothing like a lawsuit to break up what appears to be a rather cozy and lucrative relationship. And that’s exactly what appears to be happening between Monster and Apple, with the accessories company saying the iPhone maker has revoked its authority to make licensed accessories for iOS devices because of a pending lawsuit against Apple subsidary Beats. [More]
Report: Apple Sides With Music Labels, Thinks Free Streaming Service Tiers Are Bad
By 3.6.15
Last year, Apple acquired Beats, a company that makes two things that go nicely with media players and smartphones: high-end headphones and a subscription-based music streaming service. While they’re happy to offer a free trial and will be reportedly be pushing the Beats Music app to iDevice users in the future, Apple will not follow competitor Spotify’s lead in offering a free, ad-supported tier. [More]
Lawsuit Accuses Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine Of Cheating Former Beats Electronics Partner
By 1.7.15
Beats Electronics and Music certainly got a tidy sum to become a part of Apple, in fact, the $3 billion deal is the iPhone maker’s largest acquisition to date. But a lawsuit from a former partner of Beats executives Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine claims that the duo swindled him out of his chunk of that very lucrative pie. [More]
Apple Reportedly Pushing Beats Music App To Everyone’s iPhone, iPad With Next iOS Update
By 11.19.14
Apple’s first big move after purchasing Beats earlier this year – aside from firing people and removing competing products from its stores – reportedly involves pushing the subscription music service to all iPhones and iPads during an iOS update early next year. [More]
Apple Surprises No One By Removing Bose Products From Online Store
By 10.17.14
With the fairly recent acquisition of Beats Music and Electronics it probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise that Apple has ceased the sale of Bose products, including headphones and soundbars. [More]
Colin Kaepernick Fined $10K For Wearing The Wrong Headphones
By 10.10.14
As we mentioned earlier this week, the NFL has banned players from wearing any non-Bose headphones on the field, in the locker room or while talking to the press after the game. Which is why San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick is being hit with a $10,000 fine for sporting a pair of the Beats headphones (that he gets paid a lot more than ten grand to endorse). [More]
Done Deal: Apple Buys Beats For $3B, Fires 200 People
By 8.1.14
And then two become one. Apple completed its $3 billion acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics Friday. But about 200 Beats employees are missing out on the celebration, you know, since their jobs are no longer viable. [More]
Bose Sues Beats Alleging Infringement Of Noise-Canceling Headphones
By 7.25.14
The last thing you want when flying early in the morning is to have what little sleep you can get on the plane interrupted by your fellow fliers’ noise. That experience is exactly what makes noise-canceling headphones so popular, and what’s subsequently prompting a bit of a war between Bose and Beats. [More]
‘Sound By Steve’ Is Basically The Same As ‘Beats By Dre,’ Right?
By 9.17.13 — Updated: 9.16.14
Beats by Dre headphones look pretty cool, probably double as earmuffs, and even our audiophile friends over at Consumer Reports think they sound okay. Whether they’re worth the high price tag is up for debate, but most of our readers would probably say “nahh.” Fortunately, you can get that sleek Beats look on a budget. [More]
Beats Headphones Are Worth The Price, Depending On What You Want To Pay For
By 5.14.13
Do you want a set of nice headphones? Do you want a set of headphones endorsed by Dr. Dre? If the answer to both of those questions is “yes,” then perhaps Beats headphones are for you. The question, as it is with many luxury brands, is whether you want to spend $300 for a pair of headphones, and why. [More]
Dr. Dre Gets Beats Headphones On Olympians' Ears, Annoys Actual Sponsor Panasonic
By 8.6.12
Pairs of Beats by Dre headphones have showed up on many of the coolest ears on the planet, because it’s good for the brand to put them there. Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber have even had their own branded earbuds. (You might not think Bieber is cool, but his name does sell stuff to tween girls.) Getting the cans on to the heads of pro athletes is also key, which is why a wonderfully sneaky guerilla campaign began with the company slipping headphones to some highly visible Olympic athletes off-campus…despite Panasonic spending nine figures to be an official electronics sponsor of the Games. The International Olympic Committee is not thrilled with the good doctor. [More]
