- Bose has bought Skullcandy
- The brands have worked together on headphones recently
- Acquisition all but guarantees more Skullcandy cans will get Bose tools
Bose, one of the top-tier audio companies, has spent the last few years helping out other brands with audio tuning and features, and Skullcandy is one of the highest-profile beneficiaries. Just look at the Method 360 or Crusher 1080, both of which were better for the Bose touch — and more recently the Noise Master Buds Open, which we got to try at IFA Berlin last month.
Now, Bose has decided a slice of credit is not enough; it wants the whole pie. The noise-nixing pioneer has just bought Skullcandy, in a deal which seems to guarantee the bony brand’s continued success.
It sounds like little will change for Skullcandy, despite its acquisition (although you never can know with these things), but it should ensure that more of the brand’s headphones will get Bose touches. Soon, you’ll likely see Sound By Bose and the brand’s noise cancellation in more devices, beyond the flagship ones.
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That’ll be particularly great for the Park City, Utah-based company’s non-flagship headphones, speakers and earbuds. Skullcandy makes portable party speakers, workout headphones and buds, all at more affordable price-points than its now-parent company, none of which would likely have been in line for a Bose makeover before the acquisition.
Now, there’s little for Bose to lose in using its magic touch liberally.
They Bose to the challenge
A few weeks ago, prior to news about the acquisition, TechRadar’s Audio Editor Becky Scarrott spoke to Bose’s President of Premium Audio, Raza Haider. One of her questions actually happened to be about whether Bose was empowering its rivals perhaps too much, by offering out its tech?
“We exist as a company to produce great sound, through audio research,” Haider said, on September 30. “Our products are a very small way of that research manifesting itself onto human beings in the world. The more places we can find for that technology to land, the more service we’re doing for the vision of the company.
“Bose cannot be that brand, or that company, that delivers all those use cases. One brand can’t cover every single passion point, otherwise it becomes a plain vanilla tech giant. You might as well make washing machines, right? I’m not taking a dig at anyone, but you know what I’m talking about.”
So, perhaps we had a preview of Bose’s intentions then. It certainly shows that Bose has been wondering about the competition, and how best to maintain its unique positioning in the audio market.
For those of us who just love what Bose can do with ANC and can’t wait for it to become more prevalent in a wallet-friendlier brand (and surely that’s all of us?), things are looking very good indeed.
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tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford)
