"蘋果即將買下Beats？"

我們確實沒有想到會有這樣的組合，不過這可能會迸出些火花。

很多人猜測蘋果以32億美元購買嘻哈歌手Dr. Dre的Beats電子一事已經快要拍板定案。儘管兩邊都沒證實這個交易──蘋果至今最大筆的收購，但Dre在上傳至YouTube的影片中自稱為「嘻哈界首位億萬富翁」，幾乎就等於承認此事了。

雖然這個組合有些古怪，但這筆交易確實合理。儘管音樂長久以來都是蘋果生意的基石，人們卻不斷流向串流服務，像是Spotify，造成這個科技巨擘的數位下載銷量下滑。有了Beats的音訊科技、在年輕人之中的熱門程度還有頗受讚譽的音樂串流服務，蘋果將能進一步推進音樂硬體市場，並加強他們線上音樂的功能。

雖說如此，許多投資人難以看透併購背後的緣由。相較於Beats耳機和串流音樂，他們寧可看見蘋果購買能夠實際幫助蘋果拓展至新產品類別的事物。

(Technology) Apple to Purchase Beats?

Its a pairing that we certainly did not see coming, but it just might work.

There has been much speculation that Apple is closing in on a deal to purchase hip-hop artist Dr. Dres Beats Electronics for US$3.2 billion. Although neither side has confirmed the deal V Apples biggest purchase to date, Dre came extremely close when he called himself the first billionaire in hip-hop in a video posted to YouTube.

Despite the odd pairing, the deal does make sense. Even though music has long been one of the cornerstones of Apples businesses, people have increasingly been turning to streaming services such as Spotify, resulting in a drop in the tech giants digital-download sales. With Beats audio technology, popularity with young people and highly-regarded music-streaming service, Apple will be able to push further into the music hardware market and strengthen its online music capabilities.

That said, many investors struggle to see the rationale behind the acquisition. As opposed to Beats headphones and streaming music, they would rather see Apple buy something that could actually help it expand into a new product category.

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