One of the great things about Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak is that he’ll almost always give you his honest take on something, even if it involves bashing Apple and its current product lineup. So when Woz tells us that he’s a fan of Apple’s decision to buy Beats for $3 billion, he’s not just towing a company line — he’s being completely sincere.
CNET caught up with Wozniak this week and he said that he was happy to see Apple to see Apple getting back “to some cool roots” by picking up a brand that has a strong association with being cool. Woz did worry, however, that Beats hardware might be just a passing fad although he also said that if he were picking up a set of headphones for personal use, he’d probably go with Beats over a company such as Skull Candy.
While it’s true that Beats headphones are particularly popular among teenagers, most observers think the single biggest reason that Apple bought Beats was because of its Beats Music streaming service, which Apple CEO Tim Cook said “was built with deep respect for both artists and fans” and is “the first subscription service to really get it right.”
