It was reported last week from media company 9to5Mac that Apple would soon stop selling Bose products in retail stores. Apple has now made that official and has removed all Bose headphones and speakers from its retail locations and the Apple Online Store.

Soon after Apple had purchased Beats Electronics, Bose started an ongoing dispute with them filing a patent claim, which described Beats Electronics using "improper use of its noise cancellation technology." The case was dismissed however, as Bose and Beats were able to settle out of court.

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Bose also came into conflict with Beats and other competing headphone brands due to their partnership with the NFL. Because the NFL is partly sponsored by Bose, no players or personnel within the league can be seen on camera wearing any other brand of headphones.

As a result, NFL players are being punished including Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the 49ers, as he was fined $10,000 for simply wearing Beats headphones during a press conference.

The ban doesn't seem to faze Beats co-founder Jimmy Lovine. He feels the ban is only giving his brand "its fair share of free coverage."

Now that Apple owns Beats Electronics, Bose is considered a direct competitor to Apple. It's certainly possible this move could simply be a tactic to get rid of the competition and focus on promoting Beats.

It's worth noting that Apple still sells other brands of headphones like Alpine, B&O, B&W, Sennheiser, etc. However, Beats accounts for about 60 percent of sales, Bose for 22 percent and all others account for 17 percent. Those manufactures are very small compared to Bose and Beats. 

TagsBose products, Apple retail stores, Apple online store, Beats Electronics, Headphones, NFL, Colin Kaepernick, Jimmy lovine, Ban