Also check out this Forbes article criticizing the deal:
I grew up with hip hop and Dre’s The Chronic was released in my early 20s. So I’ve followed his whole career. Well done.
Well done for Dr Dre maybe, but not by Apple. What the hell they want with Beats is beyond me. The headphone product is second tier quality, and, as the Forbes article states, there are a number of better quality products out there that Apple could buy for a fraction of the money. The streaming product is also a bad fit for Apple. Hell, Apple could buy Spotify or Pandora if that’s what they were looking for.
Deal makes no sense to me, maybe they know something we don’t. I assume they do. 
Apple seems to be a fan of visible logos and visible styles so even if Beats isn’t the best performer, it’s definitely very visible of a brand and product. Just like everything that came after the iPod tried to mimic the look of the iPod, every earmuff headphone (which wasn’t even popular before beats) looks like a beats.
And well done Dre indeed.
My mobile phone has Beats on it, and I got some headphones with the contract. The buds are decent for bass-heavy dance music, hip-hop and dub, but they are really, really terrible for anything remotely subtle. Congrats to Dre though, that’s a major win for him 
Bad quality products aren’t necessarily bad investments, and style often comes before substance for Apple.
Yeah, what does Apple know about over priced second tier electronics that are known for their style over their technology?
Great for Dr. Dre as he really put in the work and now he’s going to receive his due for his efforts. However, bad for Apple as Beats are subpar headphones, in my opinion. I’m not certain why Apple thinks that this a good buy (or a good fit) for their company.
My SO bought me a pair Beats headphones as a present and while they are OK, I have a pair of Bose headphones which were $50 cheaper and which sound far better than the Beats ever will. Also, I have a pair of $50 Sony headphones which both sound better than the Beats and are also comfortable to wear for extended periods, something which the on-ear Beats woefully are not.
Hopefully Dre will not burn through his newfound wealth and hopefully Apple will find a use for or vastly improve its new acquisition.
It would be a waste of money. Beats headphones are the Crox of 2014, they look horrible.
This. It was the point made by an analyst in some article I read before seeing this thread. Beats created a whole new market of people who have been trained to fork over their cash for “stylish” headphones and other accessories. By buying Beats, Apple is not that interested in the actual products, which are secondary to the customers who are willing to fork over cash for “in” things.
Plus, I understand Beats had a music streaming thing that was also of interest, again, because of the market they were buying into.
That’s their target market. It’s huge one. I find it hard to imagine that someone who wanted to relax with a Rachmaninov piano concerto would choose to buy Beats. The whole point of them is to recreate the club/dancehall/whatever sound with headphones.
Horses for courses…