> I don't understand why Apple would buy a headphone company that makes pretty but lousy products whose price is only justified by the brand name
My wager: demographics. Apple's customer base is greying [1]. Beats likely has a younger centre of gravity. I'd also be willing to bet Apple has less penetration amongst black Americans than does Beats.
While I'm sure Beats' younger user base is enough to make this worthwhile for Apple, I wonder how much they've actually expanded in terms of buying power. I doubt many young teenagers are spending hundreds of their own dollars on these headphones, it's the parents who are already pretty much Apple's demographic.
My wager: demographics. Apple's customer base is greying [1]. Beats likely has a younger centre of gravity. I'd also be willing to bet Apple has less penetration amongst black Americans than does Beats.
[1] http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230179/Apple_s_bigge...