Citing a “reliable source,” MacRumors reported Friday that Apple is preparing to remove all Bose audio products from its retail stores, starting next week.
The source did not say why Bose’s noise-canceling headsets and iOS-ready speakers were leaving the Apple Store, but MacRumors pointed to several points of friction:
- Bose competes directly with Beats, which Apple purchased in May for $3 billion
- In July, Bose sued Beats for patent infringement, claiming that Apple’s new subsidiary had flagrantly copied its noise-canceling technology
- Earlier this week, the NFL fined San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick $10,000 for wearing a pair of pink breast-cancer-awareness Beats headphones on TV. Bose is the official headset of the NFL, and league rules prohibit players from endorsing unapproved products when conducting interviews.
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Apple’s online store currently lists 17 Bose products.
UPDATE: Reuters reported Friday that Bose and Beats had settled out of court for terms that were not disclosed. That’s one point of friction removed. No word on whether those 17 Bose products still have to go.
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