Unlike most Silicon Valley acquisitions, Beats has profits. They sell high-margin headphones with 60% market share of the over-$100 headphone market. Apple is going to be getting into wearables, and this is the original wearable. They'll probably continue to run the unit separately because the brand is too valuable to just throw away. Audiophiles can pan the headphones as much as they want, it won't be any different from when PC geeks proclaimed they could build a PC with better parts for less without paying the "Apple tax". They aren't relevant. And if the margins are as high as some claim, Apple would have all the flexibility to improve the Beats line with better materials and construction.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3015051/major-beats-beats-electro...