Next week, Beats will have debuted its first product 15 years ago. The headphone maker quickly established itself as a status symbol, on the strength of partnerships with musicians and sports influencers. It was a rare feat in the world of consumer electronics, where cool factor largely takes a back seat to functionality.
For Beats, that sometimes meant sacrificing quality in those days. Its early products were notorious for overcompensating with overwhelming bass. In the decade and a half since, however, the company has improved products beyond the design language. More recent headphones have offered a much more well-rounded experience, and the company was ahead of the game when it came to adaptive noise-canceling technologies.
While Apple’s 2014 acquisition of Beats was primarily about hitting the ground running with a Spotify competitor, Apple has largely been a good steward. As a headphone maker, Beats continues to operate as its own brand, and while the compani...
