????皮特?李說(shuō)：“從耳朵里肯定能獲得更精確的生理學(xué)數(shù)據(jù)。尤其是心率這類信息，從安靜的耳部獲得數(shù)據(jù)要比從嘈雜環(huán)境中的手環(huán)容易得多。由于耳部毛細(xì)血管眾多，數(shù)據(jù)的精度也大為提升。”

????現(xiàn)在業(yè)界已有不少成功案例。英特爾（Intel）開發(fā)了一款耳機(jī)，能跟蹤用戶的心率，并根據(jù)用戶的跑步節(jié)奏自動(dòng)選擇歌曲。而LG公司的Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker耳機(jī)也能跟蹤用戶心率。

????可穿戴設(shè)備最大的挑戰(zhàn)莫過(guò)于如何融入大眾。谷歌眼鏡（Google Glass）就被人批評(píng)太過(guò)于招搖；而腕表這類產(chǎn)品想必就平易近人得多。（當(dāng)然，它的價(jià)格也只有谷歌眼鏡的十分之一。）不過(guò)，耳機(jī)目前也已經(jīng)被人們普遍接受，無(wú)論是在辦公室里，還是在公路上騎行時(shí)，還是身處健身房，佩戴耳機(jī)都已司空見慣。最后要強(qiáng)調(diào)的是，Beats在高端耳機(jī)市場(chǎng)的份額高達(dá)70%。而且，它成功地將傳統(tǒng)的工作室級(jí)包耳耳機(jī)變成了一種生活時(shí)尚。

????咨詢公司Cowen & Co分析師蒂姆?阿庫(kù)里稱：“蘋果所能收購(gòu)的公司中，（除了Beats）沒(méi)有誰(shuí)真的有能力為它帶來(lái)一系列高端產(chǎn)品，而且這些產(chǎn)品還能夠?qū)μO果正在開發(fā)的可穿戴設(shè)備產(chǎn)生積極作用。”

????阿庫(kù)里補(bǔ)充道，Beats音樂(lè)流媒體服務(wù)的核心是個(gè)性化引擎。它結(jié)合了推薦算法和人工篩選，進(jìn)一步論證了“人性化數(shù)據(jù)”理念的高明之處。Beats音樂(lè)于今年初推出，為了與Pandora及Spotify等對(duì)手競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，這家公司耗費(fèi)巨資進(jìn)行了火力密集的市場(chǎng)推廣。而且，Beats還眼疾手快地與美國(guó)電話電報(bào)公司（AT&T）達(dá)成合作協(xié)議，推出了家庭流媒體計(jì)劃，同時(shí)還收購(gòu)了Topspin Media，后者能幫助音樂(lè)人向粉絲推銷自己的音樂(lè)作品。

????把所有這一切聯(lián)系起來(lái)，我們不難想像，蘋果將會(huì)推出新的耳機(jī)或是可穿戴設(shè)備，它們能根據(jù)用戶的心率、位置或心情進(jìn)行服務(wù)。（目前尚不清楚蘋果是否需要與唱片公司就這項(xiàng)服務(wù)重新談判許可條款。）

????阿庫(kù)里稱：“我認(rèn)為，蘋果會(huì)覺(jué)得這有可能改變內(nèi)容交付的模式。Beats將音樂(lè)交付視為一種藝術(shù)，而非一門科學(xué)。這正是蘋果公司的思維方式。”

????而且，它也符合蘋果以用戶為中心的跨平臺(tái)技術(shù)路徑。麥克奎維說(shuō)：“人們?cè)敢庠试S蘋果公司介入自己的生活，而微軟（Microsoft）或其它公司都享受不到這樣的特權(quán)。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：項(xiàng)航

????"You can certainly get much better biometrics from the ear," Li says. "Especially from a heart rate perspective, it's much easier to distinguish what your heart rate is without all the noise you get from the wrist. You also get much better resolution in terms of capillary in the ear."

????Today, Intel offers headphones that track a person's heart rate and select music based on the user's running pace and LG offers with its Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker headphones to track the user's heart rate.

????A formidable challenge for any wearable technology device is normalizing its use. Google's (GOOG) Glass headset has been widely lampooned for how conspicuous it is; electronic wristbands have been more widely accepted. (Though it certainly helps that they are about 10% of the price of Glass.) But headphones are already a socially acceptable mainstay at the office, in transit, and during gym workouts. By most accounts, Beats controls about 70 percent of the high-end headphone market, and has helped accelerate a redefinition of studio-size, over-the-ear headphones as a lifestyle item.

????"There's not really any company [other than Beats] that Apple could acquire that could bring a pipeline of high-end products, and that they could potentially leverage into other wearable products that are already being developed by Apple," says Tim Arcuri, an analyst at Cowen & Co.

????Arcuri adds that the personalization engine at the heart of the Beats Music streaming music service, which blends recommendation algorithms with human curation, as further proof that the deal underscores the "humanization of data." Beats Music launched earlier this year, and the company has mounted an aggressive campaign to thrust the service deep into the pool of music streaming competitors that include Pandora and Spotify. In short order, Beats partnered with AT&T (T) to offer family streaming plans and acquired Topspin Media, which helps musicians sell their music and merchandise to fans.

????Connect the dots and it's not unreasonable to see how Apple could make earphones or another wearable device that could serve up tracks based on the wearer's heart rate, location, or mood. (It is not clear if Apple would have to renegotiate licensing terms with music labels for such a service.)

????"I think Apple looks at it and say this could potentially change the paradigm around content delivery," Arcuri says. "The way Beats looks at music delivery is an art, not a science. That's how Apple thinks about things."

????And it plays into Apple's cross-platform, user-centric approach to technology. "There's a willingness," McQuivey says, "to give Apple permission to insert itself into our lives in a way that we don't give to Microsoft or other companies."