The Beats 360 over-ear headphones, priced at $350, are positioned as a hybrid sports model, a concept that aligns with earlier rumors of a lighter, sport-focused version of the AirPods Max. This product development, coming from Apple-owned Beats, suggests a strategic move into a versatile headphone category.
The Beats 360 offers top-tier sound, effective noise cancellation, and strong voice-call performance within an IPX4 water-resistant, modular design. Its easily swappable earcup and headband cushions are available in various colors, enhancing customization. While impressive, the headphones do omit a few features typically found in premium noise-canceling models, such as wired listening.
Design and Build Quality
A key feature of the Beats 360 is its IPX4 splashproof and sweat-resistant rating, a common attribute for earbuds but less so for full-size headphones. This design choice caters to a growing trend of users incorporating over-ear headphones into gym routines or active lifestyles.
Beyond its durability, the 360s offer extensive customization through swappable earcup and headband cushions. Each pair includes a Knit Performance Kit matching the headphones' four core colors: black, cloud, pink, and sky blue. Additional Cushion Kits are available, with an attractive launch price of $10, making personalization accessible. The source review notes that this customization option is appealing, allowing users to refresh the look of their headphones.
Aside from the IPX4 rating, the 360s’ other unique feature is the ability to customize their look with swappable earcup and headband cushions. Each pair comes with a Knit Performance Kit that matches the headphones, which are available in four core colors: black, cloud, pink and sky blue. Additional Cushion Kits normally cost $50, but Beats is selling them for $10 at launch — a solid deal.
In addition to knit options, faux leather UltraPlush cushions are available in black and cloud, offering a feel similar to the Beats Studio Pro. An interesting design element is a built-in sensor that detects the type of earcup cushions being used, calibrating sound, noise cancellation, and transparency mode accordingly.
The Knit earcups come in a variety of colors, but you can also buy faux leather UltraPlush cushions that feel like the ones on the Beats Studio Pro. The UltraPlush are only available in two colors, black and cloud. What’s interesting is that the headphones have a built-in sensor to recognize the kind of earcup cushions you’re using and calibrate the sound, noise cancellation and transparency mode accordingly.
Despite initial impressions from leaked photos, the headphones feel premium upon handling. Weighing 294.5 grams, they are slightly heavier than the 260-gram Beats Studio Pro. The construction appears sturdy, featuring a smooth metal slider in the yoke and an absence of creaky plastic. They fold flat but do not fold up like the Studio Pros.
Some users might find the initial clamping force to be a bit strong, but the headband can be stretched to alleviate this, ultimately leading to a comfortable fit that the source reviewer found slightly superior to the Studio Pro.
The Beats 360 incorporates physical control buttons, contributing to a clean aesthetic. A minor design drawback noted by the source reviewer is the soft-to-the-touch silicone finish on the inner half of the earcups, which can attract hair and particles, requiring occasional cleaning.
Regarding maintenance, Beats advises against machine washing the knit cushions, though the source reviewer successfully machine-washed and air-dried them. However, repeated washings could degrade the memory foam, and dryer use is strongly discouraged.
Connectivity and Features
Unlike Apple's H2 chip found in the latest AirPods, the Beats 360 utilizes a custom-designed Beats chip with Bluetooth 5.3. This configuration enables certain Apple-exclusive features such as always-on Siri, personalized spatial audio with head tracking, and auto-switching between Apple devices linked to an iCloud account. Simultaneously, it enhances compatibility with Android devices, allowing access to the Beats app for fast pairing, firmware updates, and the Find Hub feature, along with auto-switching between compatible Android devices.
Like the Studio Pro and some other Beats headphones and earbuds, these don’t use Apple’s H2 chip but rather a custom-designed Beats chip that’s equipped with Bluetooth 5.3. This allows the headphones to retain certain Apple-exclusive features such as always-on Siri, personalized spatial audio with head tracking and auto-switching between Apple devices signed into your iCloud account, while also being more compatible with Android devices. Unlike Apple’s headphones and earbuds, Beats headphones and earbuds can link to the Beats app for Android, which allows for fast pairing, firmware updates and access to the headphone’s Find Hub feature for Android, plus auto-switching between compatible devices.
However, Apple users may find some features missing compared to H2-equipped AirPods models. These include Conversation Awareness mode, which automatically adjusts volume and noise cancellation when the user speaks, and Live Translation, among other advanced functionalities.
The headphones also lack wear-detection sensors, meaning music does not automatically pause when removed. An auto-off idle timeout is present, powering down the headphones after seven hours of inactivity with noise-canceling enabled, a feature designed for travelers. The source reviewer suggests that adjustable auto-off options, similar to those found in Sony headphones, would be a welcome addition.
A notable omission is the absence of wired listening support via USB-C or a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable. Beats attributes this to the headphones' design, which incorporates a battery in each earcup for balanced weight distribution, with only a thin wire connecting the cups.
Audio Performance
Despite some missing features, the Beats 360 are described by the source review as the best-sounding Beats headphones to date. They feature new custom-designed dual-magnet dynamic drivers and an amplifier, delivering 12 decibels higher output than the Beats Studio Pro, resulting in louder playback.
Missing feature gripes aside, these are the best-sounding Beats headphones I’ve tested to date. They have new custom-designed dual-magnet dynamic drivers that, combined with their amp, deliver 12 decibels higher output than the Beats Studio Pro, which means they play louder.
The source reviewer's tests indicated cleaner sound with improved overall clarity and more defined bass compared to the Studio Pros. While the bass was occasionally more subdued than previous Beats models, it maintained a balanced sound profile, delivering powerful bass when required without being boomy.
However, the source review notes that the Beats 360 may not surpass the audio quality of the AirPods Max 2 or other premium headphones like the Sonos Ace Ultra ($449), which offer a slightly more natural, pure sound with greater depth, airiness, texture, and richness.
The inherent challenges of achieving analog-quality sound in digital Bluetooth headphones are acknowledged, with the AirPods Max 2's audio quality notably improving when using Apple's $39 USB-C-to-3.5mm cable.
Overall, the Beats 360 delivers sound quality expected for its price range, likely satisfying most users. A potential point of contention for some may be the inability to manually tweak the sound, a feature now available with a basic three-band equalizer in iOS 27 for H2-equipped AirPods.
Active Noise Cancellation
Beats states that the 360s' noise-canceling performance is 1.75 times better than the Studio Pro, attributed to a new microphone array and a more powerful processor. This improvement elevates the active noise cancellation (ANC) to a top-tier level, closely rivaling the performance of the AirPods Max 2 and AirPods Pro 3.
Thanks to a new microphone array and the more powerful processor running things, Beats says the 360s’ noise-canceling performance is 1.75x better than the Studio Pro’s noise-canceling capability. With the improvement, it’s now top tier and comes pretty close to what you get with the AirPods Max 2 and AirPods Pro 3.
The source reviewer found the ANC highly effective in muffling cabin noise during air travel and suppressing ambient sounds in urban environments and on public transport. It also performed well in managing midrange and higher frequencies, such as human voices.
However, in home tests with a noisy HVAC unit, the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max 2 showed a slight edge, with the Beats 360 exhibiting a faint whooshing sound not present in the AirPods models, indicating subtle differences in ANC performance.
For activities like running, the source reviewer suggests disabling noise cancellation and activating transparency mode to avoid hearing footfalls. The transparency mode itself is noted to be more natural-sounding than that of the Studio Pros, approaching the high quality of Apple’s latest AirPods.
Voice Call Quality
Beats has equipped the 360 headphones with a three-microphone beam-forming system and a new voice-processing architecture built on a system-on-a-chip platform. This platform boasts nearly twice the processing power of the previous generation of Beats' proprietary technology, complemented by new AI-trained algorithms.
Beats says it’s not only equipped the 360 headphones with a three-microphone beam-forming system, but a completely new voice-processing architecture built around a new system-on-a-chip platform that has nearly twice the processing power of the previous generation of Beats’ proprietary platform, along with new AI-trained algorithms.
These advancements result in impressive call performance. Callers reported minimal background noise when the source reviewer spoke from noisy urban settings, with voice clarity largely maintained. Even in windy conditions, the headphones performed well, with callers detecting only faint, non-intrusive wind noise, positioning these headphones among the best for voice-calling performance.
Despite the absence of a wired audio option and wear-detection sensors, the Beats 360 headphones offer significant appeal in both design and performance. They deliver excellent sound quality, high-grade noise cancellation, and top-notch voice-calling capabilities. Battery life is also robust, rated for up to 32 hours of playback with noise canceling active at moderate volume levels, an eight-hour improvement over the Studio Pro.
Priced at $350, these headphones are positioned in the premium segment. However, the source review notes that Beats headphones often see significant discounts from their list price shortly after launch. For instance, the Beats Studio Pro, also launched at $350, quickly became available for $250 or less during sales.
While initial deals may focus on cushion kits, the core headphones are expected to follow a similar pricing trend, with anticipated discounts around the holiday season. Such price adjustments would enhance their overall value proposition.
