Apple Close to Buying Beats Audio for $3.2 Billion

Could the next iPhone be powered by Beats Audio?................Yes.

Apple is reportedly closing in on its largest acquisition yet  - dropping a cool $3.2 billion on the purchase of Beats Electronics.

The deal could be announced as early as next week, people familiar with the negotiations said, but they cautioned that some details had yet to be agreed and talks could still fall apart.

A deal of this scale would represent a radical departure for Tim Cook, chief executive of the iPhone maker: under the late Steve Jobs, Apple was reluctant to pursue high-profile acquisitions.

Apple will acquire Beats’ streaming music service, which launched this year, and its audio equipment business, which includes its brand of headphones and audio equipment. The Beats management team will report to Mr Cook, said people familiar with the deal. Apple and Beats declined to comment.

A decade after Mr Jobs transformed the music industry with the iTunes download store and the iPod digital music player, the deal is likely to be seen as an admission that Apple needs to look outside its Cupertino labs to continue making an impact.

Hopefully this means we’ll finally start shipping better quality earbuds with their devices!