Apple’s New Beats 360 Flip the Script on AirPods Max
Toggle Dark Mode
Beats has just released the highly anticipated Beats 360, the company’s first pair of new over-ear headphones since the 2023 Beats Studio Pro. Interestingly, these new cans aren’t so much a replacement for that earlier model as a slightly higher-end alternative. They’re also yet another entry from Apple’s Beats division that paints the AirPods Max in an even more unusual light.
Three years ago, the Beats Studio Pro already delivered much of what the original AirPods Max offered for only $349 — $200 less than Apple’s premium headphones, which at that time hadn’t been refreshed since their December 2020 release.
The Beats 360 are a horse of a slightly different color, as they feature a substantially different design from the Studio Pro while making a few other compromises, the most notable of which is a lack of wired audio connectivity.
The Beats 360 sell for $350, taking up the price point previously occupied by the Beats Studio Pro. As a result, those older headphones have dropped to $300, although they remain on the market as an alternative for those who prefer that style. Meanwhile, the AirPods Max, now officially in their second H2-powered generation, still sell for much more premium $549.
What’s New in Beats 360
So, what do you get for $350 in the Beats 360? First off is that Apple has clearly borrowed a few design cues from the AirPods Max, including a rounded headband with an attachable head cushion and removable ear cushions — both of which Apple is promoting as a way for users to express their style.
“Beats didn’t just participate in the rise of over-ear headphones — we helped define the category,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Music, Sports, and Beats. “Beats 360 is the next chapter of that story. We combined our most advanced acoustic performance ever with a perfectly balanced design that moves effortlessly with you. And with our new interchangeable cushions, our customers can express themselves in a way no other over-ear headphone can.”
However, while it’s not uncommon to see people wearing AirPods Max at the gym, the Beats 360 are much more workout-focused. They’re rated IPX4 — a rare thing in a set of over-ear headphones — which makes them resistant to splashes of water and sweat (the AirPods Max have no IP rating at all).
They also come in at 10.4 ounces, which is about a fifth of a pound lighter than the AirPods Max — a weight difference that’s undoubtedly accounted for by their construction from plastic rather than aluminum.
As with the Beats Studio Pro, the Beats 360 lack an Apple H-series chip, opting instead for the Beats custom silicon used in most other Beats headphones (the Powerbeats Pro 2 and Powerbeats Fit are the only exceptions here).
Apple switched to a custom-designed proprietary chip with the Beats Studio Buds in 2021 to provide a platform-agnostic solution. While few non-Apple users would likely ever opt for AirPods in any form, Beats are intended to embrace all platforms, and the custom chip makes them equally friendly to both Android and iOS, with support for things like fast pairing, “Find My” tracking support using both Apple’s and Google’s networks, and seamless audio switching between devices.
The custom chip, which is now in its fourth generation, handles the audio processing, driving a dual-magnet dynamic driver and a high dynamic range amplifier, plus Active Noise Cancellation, powered by eight external microphones. You also still get Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking — a development that significantly closed the gap with the AirPods Max when it showed up on the Beats Studio Pro three years ago.
The Beats 360 offer Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, but this is where they differ from both the Beats Studio Pro and AirPods Max, as that’s your only connectivity. While the Beats 360 will charge over USB-C, there is no wired audio support at all. It’s Bluetooth or nothing.
Further, while the Beats Studio Pro can be folded up for easy travel, the Beats 360 follow the AirPods Max design where you can only twist the ear cups flat.
In addition to the much more wallet-friendly price tag, the Beats 360 also promised an impressive 32 hours of battery life on a single charge with ANC on and Personalized Spatial Audio enabled. That beats the 24 hours offered by the Beats Studio Pro and the 20 hours of the AirPods Max.
The Beats 360 are currently available directly from Beats or from the Apple Store in black, cloud, pink, or sky. As an Apple product, they can also be purchased with AppleCare+ for additional protection, or bundled into an AppleCare One Individual or Family plan.
