$3.2B Is Worth It for Better Headphones

Is this deal all about acquiring the headphone hardware of today or the cloud-based software of tomorrow? It's an interesting question: Digital sales declined last year for the first time ever, and it seems inevitable that the future of music will be streamed. But rather than being about hardware vs. software, I think this deal is more about the value of small advantages in the smartphone market, which now accounts for all of Apple's revenue growth.