HTC smartphones to come sans Beats headphones

One of the biggest news to have come out of HTC, last year, barring that about their range of smartphones, was their share in Beats Electronics. It was big news, because HTC now owned a 51 percent majority stake in Beats, which it got for 300 million USD. The deal got HTC exclusive rights to manufacture handsets with Beats branding associated with it.  The first handset to come out of HTC’s stable with the Beats logo was the Sensation XE with Beats Audio and since then a number of devices featured this branding. With the branding, HTC also bundled up Beats headphones or earphones as part of the package contents giving users an option to experience music the way the artists intended. However, as per an exclusive report by CNET, it appears that the brand will no longer be bundling Beats earphones or headphones as part of the box contents of their smartphones.

No more Beats headphones as part of the box

According to a report, Martin Fichter, an HTC product executive has said, “An accessory like the headphone doesn’t factor in when someone is buying a smartphone. If they want a Beats headphone, they’ll buy it directly.” The article by CNET goes on to state that the incorporation of Beats technology and their bundled headphones were key selling points behind the decision for HTC to buy a majority stake in the company.

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The report states, “Fichter, however, said the plan for HTC was to work with the technology behind the headphones, which is still getting incorporated into its handsets. Beats has consistently popped up in HTC’s products in one way or the other, including speaker technology and the way the phones sound through headphones.” The product executive did not rule out the possibility of HTC not carrying Beats headphones or earphones as part of the package contents, but as of now, it is something that the brand is not considering. So with this move, one can now only expect the Beats technology in the devices and not the earphones or headphones. Let us know your reactions about HTC retracting their decision about bundling Beats headsets with their smartphones in the comments section below.