22
Aug
beets-by-dre

[Update: HTC Denial] Rumor: HTC May Drop Beats Integration On Handsets, To The Displeasure Of No One But Dr. Dre

Posted by in HTC, News, Rumors

Update: HTC has officially denied the veracity of this rumor, and stated that it has no plans to discontinue use of Beats Audio in its handsets.

Original Article: I don't like Beats. You probably don't like Beats. In fact, it's really, really easy to not like Beats. According to news site MyDrivers.com, HTC might not like Beats anymore, either.

After ditching bundled Beats earbuds in April, and then selling 50% of its stake in the headphone and, uh, sound enhancement company, industry sources (yeah, yeah, we know how that goes) are saying that HTC is going to drop Beats Audio from its handset lineup entirely.

06
Apr
IMG_0607

HTC: No More Beats Headphones Bundled With Future Handsets

Posted by in HTC, News

In a move that is going to surprise approximately no one who knows anything about selling smartphones, HTC has indicated to CNET that it no longer plans to bundle Beats headphones with its handsets.

The reasoning should be pretty obvious - people aren't going to buy a smartphone on the basis that it comes with a pair of decent headphones. Headphones are a separate market, and if you care about them at all, you're going to buy them separate of any other hardware. The fact that Monster is no longer Beats' manufacturing partner is probably linked to this "decision," as well (HTC owns a 51% stake in Beats, and Monster and Beats have now parted ways).