Beats 360 Reviews Find $350 Over-Ears With Swappable Cups, IPX4 and Stronger Noise Cancel

CULVER CITY, Calif. — Beats’ new 360 over-ear headphones went on sale this week at $349.99, and first reviews treat them as a gym-capable cousin of Apple’s AirPods Max rather than a studio flagship.

The company announced the set Sept. 22 for order in more than 100 countries, with in-store and delivery availability listed for Sept. 24. Core colors are Black, Cloud, Pink and Sky, each shipping with matching Performance Knit ear-cup and headband cushions. Extra cushion kits were promoted at $9.99 for a limited window in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, China, Australia and South Korea, then $49.99. UltraPlush kits in Black and Cloud use a leather-like surface. Beats Studio Pro dropped to $299.99 in the United States as the 360 arrived.

Official specifications list a 294.5-gram (10.39-ounce) headset, 165.5 by 191.3 by 87.1 millimeters, Class 1 Bluetooth, USB-C charging and no 3.5-millimeter jack. Battery life is rated up to 32 hours with active noise cancellation and Personalized Spatial Audio on. A five-minute Fast Fuel charge is specified for about an hour of playback. Beats calls the 360 its first over-ear model with an IPX4 sweat-and-splash rating.

Marketing claims 1.75 times the total noise cancellation of Studio Pro and 12 decibels more driver output. Drivers are described as dual-magnet dynamics with three-layer diaphragms. Eight or nine microphones, depending on the briefing, feed ANC, Transparency and Adaptive EQ. A custom Beats chip handles Apple one-touch pairing, iCloud switching, Audio Sharing, Find My and Android pairing. Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Music, Sports and Beats, said in the launch materials: “Beats didn’t just participate in the rise of over-ear headphones—we helped define the category.”

Reviewers spent the embargo week on fit, sweat and whether $350 undercuts Bose and Sony without matching them.

The Verge scored the 360 a 7 and titled its test around the gym. Strengths listed were the first IP rating on Beats headphones, removable cups in six colors and a replaceable battery. Weaknesses were ANC that lagged other $350 sets, a “shush-y” midrange and cups that can shift in hard workouts. Noise canceling was “very good,” the review said, “not as silent as the Bose Ultra Headphones Gen 2.” The writer still called the pair something to grab “if I wanted to focus in on my reps without a worry — while showing off some color.”

Engadget’s Billy Steele rated the headphones 8.2 out of 10. Pros included a new design, customization and bass-forward tuning. Cons included a tight fit on larger heads, no wired use and simple buttons. Steele wrote that Beats now offers “one set of headphones you can use all day and take to the gym.” Call quality was “perfectly usable in most cases; your colleagues won’t question if you’re dialing in from under water.” He repeated the 32-hour ANC claim.

Tom’s Guide’s Kate Kozuch called the 360 a “triumph for athletic audio,” citing IPX4, modular auto-tuning cushions, physical thumb controls, iOS and Android support and 32 hours with ANC. She flagged no wear detection, no 3.5-millimeter jack and no included wall charger. Extra cushion sets were listed at $49 after the intro price.

9to5Mac’s hands-on said the 360 are “the closest Apple headphones to AirPods Max, with one caveat”: no wired connection. The writer said they get 12 dB louder than Studio Pro, offer 1.75 times the ANC, add Adaptive EQ in iOS 27 and are the first Beats headphones with IPX4. Price sits $200 below AirPods Max at $549.

Trusted Reviews’ first listen in the United Kingdom used a £299.95 tag. The tester said chatter and room noise “were all instantly muted” before playback started, then found Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me” clear and immersive. Beats’ language on “powerful bass and incredible precision” was quoted as a company promise, not a lab result. The same site noted Studio Pro’s U.K. list falling to £249.95.

BGR’s José Adorno wrote that “Beats 360 has the best sound in any pair of Beats headphones I’ve ever used,” after the brand moved away from the old “deep bass and crazy treble” Studio signature. He called missing auto-pause when the cups leave the ears “a huge miss” at the price. Battery life of 32 hours with ANC on beats Studio Pro’s 24-hour rating.

Ecoustics listed customizable design, relatively detailed sound, strong ANC for the money, call quality and IPX4 as pluses, and a possible battery drain when powered off as a minus.

Hardware details that reviews keep repeating: electronics live in both cups, similar to AirPods Max, so the headband carries less wiring. A twist lock seats each cup and can play a tone if the set is on, The Verge said. Controls sit on the back of the cups — volume rocker, multi-function, power, listening mode. Multipoint Bluetooth is supported. Wear sensors are absent. A ripstop case ships in the box; the USB-C cable and adapter are sold separately on Apple’s store.

Where the 360 sits in Apple’s stack is the commercial point. AirPods Max remain the premium over-ear. Studio Pro is now the cheaper Beats can. Powerbeats Pro 2 and Powerbeats Fit 2 already had IPX4 as earbuds. The 360 is the first full-size Beats set meant to survive a workout without a garbage-bag caveat.

It is not a consensus smash. The Verge’s 7 and midrange complaint sit beside Engadget’s 8.2 and Tom’s Guide’s gym verdict. ANC is better than Studio Pro on Beats’ own multiplier and not class-leading against Bose in The Verge’s room test. There is no analog jack, a gap 9to5Mac treated as the main knock for anyone who still plugs into airplanes or consoles. There is no wear detection. Cups can move when you run.

What the reviews do agree on is the product thesis: swap the knit or UltraPlush pads, rinse sweat off an IPX4 frame, get about 32 hours, pay $350, and accept wireless-only life. That is narrower than a Sony WH-series all-rounder and louder, brighter and more color-forward than AirPods Max. Availability is this week. The extra cushions are cheap only while the launch promo lasts.