What should Apple do with the Beats headphone line? [Poll]

The Apple/Beats deal might be official now but a lot of questions remain. Will Apple keep the Beats brand? What roles will Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre play as Apple executives? Will Beats under Apple continue to produce stylish, high-priced, bass-intesive, headphones? It's that last one I'm curious about right now... What should Apple do with Beats headphones?

Should they keep the headsets as-is, Beats-branded and bass-heavy? Should the consolidate them under the Apple-branded EarPods line? Should they toss out everything and make a new line of great, accurate-sounded headsets for the next generation? (With super bass-boost button if needed?). Or should Apple just get out of the headset business entirely and focus on devices and services?

It's an interesting question — to change Beats headphones could make them technically "better" but could also ruin what makes them undeniably popular. The Beats brand could increase Apple's addressable market but could also split their focus. Which way should they go?

Vote in the poll above and give me your expanded thoughts in the comments below!

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.