Apple Getting Its Beats On In $3.2B Buyout Of Beats Electronics

If rumors prove true, Apple is on the verge of making its largest acquisition to date. While it might seem like a bit of a strange move at first, Apple's keen on purchasing Beats, the maker of the current de facto trendy headphones, those founded by successful hip-hop star / producer / entrepreneur, Dr. Dre.

If this deal goes through, no one is going to say they Forgot About Dre: Apple's willing to part with a massive $3.2 billion. This is striking mostly for the fact that Apple has largely been a conservative company, despite having enough money in the bank to make many acquisitions. But, when looking at the finer details, certain perks can be seen.

While Apple provides the world with its largest digital music marketplace, it's virtually an unknown in the streaming space, where Pandora, Spotify, and even Last.fm reign supreme. By contrast, Beats in January unveiled its own streaming service, and it happens to be pretty good. This is primarily due to the fact that there's a human element at play: Playlists are not entirely computer-generated.

Streaming is no doubt one part of Apple's focus here, but so too must be the instant entry into the high-end headphone market. Clearly, many consider an iPhone to be a fashion accessory, and likewise, many consider Beats headphones to be the same. 

Nonetheless, while it might seem a little odd for Apple to shell out over 3 billion dollars to acquire something that it could no doubt build from the ground up for much less, it'd be saving itself a lot of time by simply sucking it up and immediately becoming a major part of the high-end headphone market. I follow a couple worldwide sports, and it's amazing how many athletes I've seen sporting Beats headphones - it truly is the trendiest option at the moment, and I think there's little doubt that Apple realizes that well.