When big news breaks, taking the contrarian viewpoint is an instant traffic magnet. And when it comes to Apple’s rumored upcoming acquisition of Beats Electronics, the contrarian viewpoint is beyond obvious — not a single respected industry watcher seems to be able to make any sense of the deal at all. Beats’ headphone lineup obviously has value and its streaming music product also obviously has value to Apple, but is the Beats brand really a good fit in Cupertino? Is Apple really going to manage another brand for the first time ever? Is Beats really so important to the future of Apple that it warrants becoming the company’s biggest ever acquisition at $3.2 billion?
Most people seem to be answering “no” to all of those questions, but Wired says Apple’s Beats buy isn’t just a good idea, it’s Apple’s “best idea since the iPad.”
“Apple is finally growing up,” Wired begins. “For years, guided by Steve Jobs’ firm hand and relentless vision, the company minted breakthrough after breakthrough. When gadgets appeared from behind Apple’s tightly guarded walls, they were so fully realized, it was hard to remember what life was like without them. But now that Jobs is gone, things have changed. Going years without introducing something radically new, Apple’s famously insular culture has started to look parochial.”
Without spoiling too much of this gem, Wired’s position is basically that Apple is no longer cool, Beats is cool, and Apple is brilliant because it’s looking for outside help and buying cool.
Eesh.
The full story is linked below in our source section.
