After months of teases and leaks, Beats is officially announcing its new Beats 360 headphone today. Priced at $349.99, Beats 360 represents a rethinking of the Beats over-ear headphone design, with an emphasis on sound quality, comfort, and customizability.
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Beats 360 is not a replacement for the brand’s Studio Pro over-ear headphone, as the Studio Pro will remain part of the Beats lineup at a reduced price point of $299.99, down from the previous $349.99. Compared to Studio Pro, Beats 360 features a completely new acoustic architecture that delivers up to 1.75× more active noise cancellation and a 12dB increase in output while maintaining clarity across all frequencies with low distortion.
In addition to active noise cancellation (ANC), which utilizes a system of eight microphones to analyze the acoustic environment inside and outside the headphone, Beats 360 also support Transparency mode to still allow you to hear the world around you, while turning off ANC and Transparency activates Adaptive EQ to continually tune acoustic performance.
Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking is also supported, allowing users to take full advantage of Apple’s platforms that deliver 360-degree Dolby Atmos sound and move within the sound field as they turn their heads.”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.”Beats 360 is available in four color options: Black, Cloud (an off-white), Pink, and Sky (a light blue). It includes comfortable color-matched Perfomance Knit ear and headband cushions, but the cushions are removable and interchangeable, allowing you to customize your favorite look and even change color combinations to suit the moment. Separate Performance Knit cushion kits are available in all four of the standard colors, plus Volt (a neon yellow-green) and Navy.
The Performance Knit memory foam cushions are breathable and ideal for working out and other active uses, but for the times you might prefer a more traditional cushion style, Beats is also introducing UltraPlush cushion kits in Black and Ivory. Similar to the ones found on Studio Pro and Solo 4, Beats 360 UltraPlush cushions feature a more pillowy feel with memory foam wrapped in engineered leather. Sensors in Beats 360 identify whether you are using Performance Knit or UltraPlush cushions, and they automatically adjust the acoustic tuning and noise cancellation filtering to maintain a consistent listening experience regardless of cushion material.
Beats 360 in dozens of color combinations
Cushion kits for both Performance Knit and UltraPlush will be priced at $49.99, but for a limited time and in select markets (US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, China, and South Korea), Beats is offering a launch promo that drops cushion kit pricing to just $9.99 or the rough equivalent in the local currency. Swapping out cushions is as simple as a quick twist on each ear cushion to remove and install, while the headband cushion snaps off and on with a small amount of effort while remaining securely attached during use.
Beats 360 in Sky
For active users, Beats 360 is the first Beats over-ear headphone product to feature an IPX4 sweat and water resistance rating, meaning it is protected against liquid ingress.
Beats 360 in Sky with Navy cushions
The removable cushions also make it easy to clean them, a welcome feature for those who plan to use Beats 360 for workouts. Beats recommends mixing one teaspoon (5ml) of laundry detergent into one cup (250ml) of water, rubbing the solution onto each cushion with a lint-free cloth for one minute each, wiping them clean with a separate cloth dampened with fresh water, and drying them with another lint-free cloth.
While over-ear and on-ear headphones have generally required thick headbands in order to accommodate multiple cables to connect the two ear cups, Beats 360 actually consists of two independent wireless earphones, with each containing its own battery, antenna and processing circuitry.
As a result, the headband houses only a single power cable to connect the two sides, allowing the batteries in both sides to be charged simultaneously from a single USB-C port. The thin headband also helps to optimize weight distribution, so while Beats 360 and Studio Pro are similar in weight at a little under 300 grams, Beats 360 puts more of the mass into the cushions where it matters most for comfort.
The left earcup features a USB-C port for charging, a power button, and a dedicated listening mode button to switch among ANC, Transparency, and Adaptive EQ, while the right earcup includes a play/pause button and a volume rocker. Hands-free “Hey Siri” support is also included.
When it comes to battery life, Beats 360 deliver 32 hours of playback with ANC on, with a five-minute Fast Fuel charge giving you an hour of playback time in a pinch.
The Beats fourth-generation proprietary platform delivers significant levels of native integration across both Apple and Android, with Apple users able to take advantage of one-touch pairing with automatic iCloud pairing and switching, Audio Sharing to allow a friend with compatible AirPods or Beats to listen to your audio, and Find My support. Android users get many of the same features with one-touch and ecosystem pairing, Audio Switch, and Find Hub geolocation.
Unlike the Beats Studio Pro, Beats 360 headband does not fold for travel, but the earcups do twist flat, and the headphones slide into a woven ripstop carrying case with a magnetic closure and a rear loop to hook onto a finger or carabiner. The case measures about 9 inches square and a little over 2 inches thick at its pleated bottom with the headphone inside. I prefer this flatter style of case to that of the Studio Pro, as it allows the headphone to fit into a computer bag or backpack more easily.
Cases for Beats Studio Pro (left) and Beats 360 (right)
In support of the 360 launch, Beats is debuting a new ad campaign featuring Kendall Jenner, led by a short film of Jenner meeting a friend at a cafe but realizing that everyone in the room is a different version of herself styled with a unique combination of ear cushions, emphasizing the individuality that’s possible with Beats 360.
“I’m always on the go and switching between so many different looks,” said Kendall Jenner. “So Beats 360 fits my lifestyle. I love that I can switch the cushions to match whatever I’m doing that day.”
“Kendall tailors her looks to fit every moment, so she needs a headphone that can change with her,” said Beats CMO Chris Thorne. “The film captures that perfectly, playfully showing every side of Kendall, and how Beats 360 keeps up with all of them.”In a brief interview with Schusser at a Beats preview event earlier this month, he discussed how Jenner was an ideal candidate to promote Beats 360 given the many roles she plays throughout any given day in her personal and professional life.
He also addressed how Beats has been able to flourish under Apple’s ownership, with Beats gaining access to all of Apple’s expertise in audio as Apple and Beats engineers work side-by-side on products. At the same time, Beats has been able to maintain its own identity on the product design and marketing sides, continuing to focus on active lifestyle and celebrity marketing that remains distinct from how Apple promotes its own products.
Beats 360 is available to order starting today at apple.com in the United States and more than 100 other countries and regions, with availability following this Thursday, September 24. It comes with the woven ripstop carrying case, while additional cushion kits, USB-C charging cables, and power adapters are sold separately.Tags: Beats, Beats 360This article, “Beats 360 Deliver Customizability and a Revamped Over-Ear Headphone Design” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
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Author: Eric Slivka