It looks like the days of HTC devices with Beats audio may be over. It all started when HTC purchased a 50.1% stake in the company. The two teamed up to create an audio system for HTC devices, which started out as an inflexible bass-heavy software equalizer that didn’t work well. But they improved the software little by little, and the Beats tech slowly became something worth having.
A year later, Beats had purchased half of HTC’s stake in the company. And as HTC has been falling from grace, Beats has wanted to be free. It’s a growing business stuck with a failing smartphone company, and the founders knew that. So they have decided to buy back Beats in full, purchasing the remaining 25% stake that HTC had.
Previously, those behind Beats have stated that they are a quickly growing business and need to expand to work with manufacturers that can keep up with them. In its current state, HTC can’t. Hopefully that doesn’t mean Samsung will be looking for a partnership. But what will this mean for HTC?
HTC thought of Beats as an “important partner,” and used the Beats technology as a selling point. However, I don’t think this will affect their business much. Not too many people would look at their phones and choose them because they have Beats technology. With how trendy the headphones are, many of the users actually own iPhones in my experience. Plus, they still have their awesome BoomSound technology that they can tune in-house. I don’t think this will have a negative impact on HTC.
The deal will be closing by the end of the year, and while the possibility of HTC using Beats technology after this exists (they would just not hold exclusive rights), we wouldn’t get our hopes up. Do you think this is damaging to the company, or will they survive without a software equalizer and an extra logo? Leave a comment!
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