Beats Audio may be moving to Cupertino, but that doesn’t mean it’s giving up on the PC market. Well, at least not yet — HP says it still has rights to use the brand’s audio technology for the foreseeable future. It’s part of the company’s pre-existing contract with Beats: HP can develop new Beats-bundled products through 2014, and it’s allowed to sell those products through the end of the 2015. In other words, we’ll be seeing HP laptops, desktops and tablets with beats branding for the next year and a half. That’s a lot of leeway. According to CNET, HP isn’t wasting time: it says it’s building an aggressive line-up of Beats enabled devices for 2014.
Computer maker Hewlett-Packard confirmed Wednesday that it will continue to integrate Beats Audio technology in its high-end PCs through 2015, in spite of Apple’s purchase of Beats Electronics. A company spokesman said in an email that HP is allowed to continue developing products with new Beats Audio technologies through 2014. But it’s allowed to continue selling devices with the Beats Audio logo and technology through 2015. HP says it’s planning an aggressive lineup of new products that includes the Beats branding through 2014. These products will have the full Beats Audio experience, the company says. Currently, Beats technology is included in about 15 percent to 20 percent of devices sold by HP. HP’s longstanding relationship with the company, famous for making headphones, came into question today when Apple finally announced its plans to buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics for $3 billion. Rumors surrounding the deal made headlines earlier this month. Until now, it was unclear what the fate of HP’s relationship with Beats would be going forward if the deal between Apple and Beats was officially announced.