In a recent interview, Oliver Schusser, Apple’s VP overseeing Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports, and Beats, discussed Apple Music's ongoing innovation, its competitors, and the newly redesigned Beats Pill speaker.
Innovation in Apple Music
Speaking with Craig McLean at Wallpaper, Schusser emphasized Apple Music’s relentless focus on innovation. He pointed out that while competitors like Spotify have shifted their attention to podcasts and audiobooks, Apple remains dedicated to enhancing the music experience.
“We are focused on music while other people are running away from music into podcasts and audiobooks…And while most others in the marketplace have sort of stopped innovating, we’ve been really pushing hard,” Schusser stated.
He highlighted recent Apple Music features such as Apple Music Sing, Classical, lyrics, and spatial audio as examples of the platform’s cutting-edge advancements. Schusser noted that spatial audio, in particular, has revolutionized the listening experience, with 90% of Apple Music subscribers now enjoying music in this format.
The Redesigned Beats Pill
Addressing the new Beats Pill redesign, Schusser explained the focus on headphones in recent years. He noted that the decision to prioritize headphone innovation delayed the speaker’s update.
“We needed to do a lot of work. We look at Beats as a premium product company. We’re in the headphone space. Our aspirations are to make the best headphones with the best technology. We needed to completely redesign and reimagine our entire headphone portfolio. We decided to focus on that first before we were going to get to the Pill,” Schusser explained.
Schusser detailed the technical improvements in the new Beats Pill, emphasizing better sound quality and a lighter design. The redesigned speaker now features a single racetrack woofer and tweeter, which provide louder and clearer sound with lower distortion. The new woofer displaces significantly more air than the dual woofers in the previous model, resulting in improved bass reproduction.
Apple’s Premium Strategy
Throughout the interview, the word “premium” repeatedly surfaced as a core principle for both Apple Music and Beats. Schusser highlighted that Apple is content to let competitors like Spotify and YouTube dominate the free music market while it focuses on attracting paid subscribers with superior quality and innovation.
Oliver Schusser's insights into Apple’s strategic direction across multiple departments underline the company’s commitment to maintaining a premium brand image and continuously improving its products and services. The full interview offers a deeper look into Apple’s ambitions and the innovative steps it is taking in the music industry.