The new Beats 360 are premium headphones that are customizable, sweat-resistant, sound great, and can be your new workout partner at the gym.
When it comes to premium headphone options, there are a few options available from Apple's personal audio stable. At the most extreme end of the scale, you can pay a lot for the AirPods Max if you want an easy-listening and high-quality listening experience at home.
Then there's Beats, the subsidiary that also sells the Beats Solo 4 and the Beats Studio Pro. Both are on-ear and over-ear headphones that have the audio quality and comfort for long listening sessions.
However, while they are great for home use, the headphone market also caters to a market of fitness enthusiasts. People who need music to do their best at the gym, or at least to pass the time as they pound the roads on a daily run.
While Beats earphones like the Powerbeats Fit or the Powerbeats Pro 2 are certainly constructed for that job, there's still a contingent who prefer to have over-ear headphones. Those earbuds are certainly made for fitness with sweat resistance, but those headphones generally don't have that.
I am somewhat part of that contingent. Outside of the house, I'm a regular user of Powerbeats Fit since they slip easily into a bag and can be hidden under my hair, but I do gravitate towards over-ear headphones while working.
Some people are still choosing headphones for comfort where possible. Even if that means taking expensive AirPods Max with them into a situation that they weren't really made for in the first place.
With the Beats 360, the Apple subsidiary thinks it's cracked this market with something that is flexible, durable, and customizable.
Beats 360 review: Core design
Throughout the 2026 World Cup, Beats has been teasing the Beats 360 by handing headphones out to players. The design hasn't change since then at all.
The Beats 360 are over-ear headphones that are unmistakably Beats in design, but are also a big departure from its previous models. This time around, it's taking some of the cues from the AirPods Max.
Rather than the more obvious multi-section design and generally flat headband of the Solo 4 and Solo Pro, the Beats 360 instead use a round headband with a central cushion.
That cushion is attached on the inside of the band and extends much further in width than the thickness of the headband itself.
Beats 360 review: The frame is small, the attachable earcups make up most of the size.
Then there's the earcup sections, which still have the big Beats logo but it no longer has the big side button. Instead, the outer earcup section is a flat and smooth disc, tapering to meet the band.
The headband adjustment is also different, in that it's a round shiny metal section that slides inside the headband and enables the earcups to rotate.
This also allows the Beats 360 to rotate to lie flat on a table or in the supplied carrying bag. You no longer have the hinged section to fold the earcups in, but this is still a nice compromise.
If you discount the headband cushion and the earcups, the main frame of the Beats 360 is actually very compact for premium headphones in general. Let alone the typical Beats headwear.
At 6.52 inches wide, 7.53 inches tall and 3.35 inches deep when not folded flat, they're fairly typical in terms of size, though still very lean.
At 10.39 ounces, they're at a midpoint between the Beats Solo 4 and the AirPods Max, they've got some heft to them. That makes them quite dense, but not too heavy for long-term wear.
Beats 360 review: The headphones are very lightweight, and similar to the Beats Studio Pro
It's a design choice that makes sense considering the aims of making them nice to wear while working out, while allowing things to be replaced over time. In a week of usage, they have been very comfortable for long sessions of work, and the occasional workout.
As for the visual design, it's new and improved in the way Beats manages to pull off, without shouting about it. It's sleek and good-looking, and unless you're going for a bright color combo, it's not obnoxious to wear in public, either.
Beats has certainly taken some inspiration from the AirPods Max here, but there are other changes at play here.
Beats 360 review: Personalization
As usual for Beats, you have color options. But unusually this time, you can make more of a fashion statement than usual.
Beats 360 review: Some of the color combinations with the cloud, volt, and black UltraPlush cushions
The earcup cushions and the headband cushions are removable and replaceable. This works in a number of ways, with the chief one being that you can mix-and-match colors.
Each earcup easily twists off and can be quickly replaced with another cushion kit. The headband cushion can also be snapped off and replaced with relative ease.
Beats 360 review: An assortment of cushions
While the base colors are Black, Cloud, Sky, and Pink for the frame, you can go completely different with the cushion kits.
The Performance Knit has a distinctive microthread knit pattern to make them breathable and extremely soft, in part thanks to the memory foam filling. It results in a cushion that you can press down with minimal force, but still see them instantly spring back into place.
They are supplied in the same colors as the frame, as well as Navy and Volt options. The Volt, which is an almost luminous yellow-green, combined with the white-ish Cloud frame, seems like the most stylish play here.
If you prefer the feel of the older Beats headphones, there's also UltraPlush, which uses Black or Cloud-colored leather. It's the same sort of experience as the Studio Pro headphones, if you would prefer that to the knit finish.
Beats 360 review: Opening the Volt Performance Knit cushions
If you combine the eight cushion options and four frames, that's up to 32 combinations of colors. Or, if you want to be really unique and use different cushions for each part, you could get up to 256 combinations.
You may want to think twice about this approach, mind. Each cushion kit is $49.99 apiece, which can quickly add up.
Thankfully, at launch Beats will be selling the cushion packs for $9.99 apiece.
Beats 360 review: The head cushion simply snaps into small slots.
The construction of the cushions themselves is also interesting, since the back section is slightly translucent silicone on a harder plastic skeleton, instead of something more solid. The cushions are therefore very lightweight, while also giving a bit of protection to the headphones if you drop them.
These sure aren't the solid metal earcups you'd find on AirPods Max.
The ease of being able to change the earbuds does allow you to make the Beats 360 better match your outfit of the day, but there's also a practical side to it too.
If you're working out regularly in headphones, you'll eventually notice grime and signs of wear on earcups. At least with the Beats 360, you can more easily replace the earcups than the entire unit.
Sure, you can get spares and replace the earcups on other headphones with a bit of research and effort. But here, it's an expectation of use.
Combined with the frame, it results in a very nice-to-wear pair of headphones. They don't clamp too hard onto your head, and have been worn for multi-hour work sessions without prompting any comfort-related complaints.
Beats 360 review: Steady and sweat-proof
An interesting point about the Beats 360 is how they're practically made for working out.
We're talking more than just the ability to sit on your head here. With the steel spring design of the headband and the way the earcups fit around your ears, they are staying put.
This is done in a way that doesn't feel uncomfortable after wearing them for a long period of time. Sure, there's a little press to keep them tight to your head, but the softness of the earcups counters this pressure very well.
Beats 360 review: The earcup locking mechanism. All it needs is a small twist.
If they can survive a good 30-second manic head-banging session, they will stay on while you're on the treadmill.
Unusually, these are sweat and water-resistant headphones to IPX4. You're not going to be able to swim with them, but they'll easily survive light rain and sweat.
There's a firewall implemented behind the acoustic driver, which seals off the electronics from any liquids that enter the headphone's frame. That firewall still allows Beats to include a venting structure for acoustic purposes, while ensuring the electronic elements won't be harmed over time.
Beats 360 review: Self-contained earcups
The design of the headphones is also interesting as each earcup is effectively its own functional unit.
A typical headphone design uses wires in the headband to connect the two sides up, handling data and power. For the Beats 360, each earcup is self-contained as its own unit.
With each earcup having a battery, antenna, and processing components, they work as a self-contained system. There is still a cable in the headband, but only power is shared between the two sides.
The earcups communicate wirelessly with each other. This is similar to what you'd expect from wireless earbuds, and it's the same principle, but with headphones.
This is an idea that makes a lot of sense from a wear-and-tear standpoint.
Beats 360 review: Control
In the absence of the side Beats logo buttons, the buttons have shifted around to the edges of the earcups. There are a few buttons on each side, placed to the mid-to-low rear, which makes them easy to access while the headphones are worn.
The mounted-higher controls of AirPods Max make them easier to see when you're externally looking at the headphones, but the placement here by Beats is far better for actually reaching them. That, and they're hidden from the view of most people, aside from those standing right behind you.
On the left is the Listening Mode button, for switching between Transparency and full ANC. Below is a power button, which is also used to manage pairing with devices. At the base of the earcup is a USB-C port for charging.
On the right-hand side is a volume rocker with a multi-function play-pause button below.
Beats 360 review: The controls are to the rear and are easily reached.
These buttons are just clicky enough to be satisfying, without being too obtrusive while in use. They're also slightly proud of the casing, making them easier to access blindly.
The exception is the power button, which is made to be more surface-level than the rest so you don't accidentally press it. The small LED light on the power button is a nice touch, again without being too distracting for anyone looking at the headphones.
While you can use your fingers to manage the Beats 360, you can also use your voice. For iOS, there's hands-free Siri support, though on Android you can press and hold the multi-function button to access Google Assistant.
Beats 360 review: Performance
Beats is fond of using customized audio hardware, and the Beats 360 is no different. A high-dynamic-range amplifier and a custom-designed 40mm dual-magnet transducer run the show here, with the latter providing as much headroom as it can for a balanced and clear audio profile.
That transducer uses two neodymium ring magnets, as well as a triple-layer construction to reduce resonance. Venting around the transducer is also managed to reduce distortion.
The audio modes include Transparency and ANC, with the latter claimed to be 1.75 times better than the ANC of the Beats Studio Pro. Transparency, meanwhile, is said to be more natural-sounding than before.
Audio is collected by a total of nine MEMS microphones with a high signal-to-noise ratio. That includes eight for ANC, with two also used for a three-mic array with beamforming for picking up your voice.
Beats 360 review: The earcups are silicone and plastic. You can just see the internal structure.
If you turn off both ANC and Transparency, Adaptive EQ kicks in to analyze the fit on the user's head. It's constantly adapting instead of using a single fixed profile for tuning, which helps if you hand the headphones on to someone else.
During use, the ANC has proven itself to be exceptionally good. To the level that I forgot that a fan was running in the office, noticing only after I removed the headphones at the end of a shift.
If you're using an Apple device, there's also Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking, for when a Dolby Atmos track comes up on Apple Music. There's an accelerometer and gyroscope in the left earcup handling that task.
The headphones use Beats' proprietary platform, now in its fourth generation, which handles all of the constant tuning and environmental audio adaption. Again, Beats uses audio processors optimized with machine learning, which helps with capturing the user's voice.
In making a few calls through FaceTime, Discord, and over the phone, it seems to be fairly clear and understandable to this reviewer's ears and his contacts.
After using the Beats 360 for a few days with a variety of music genres and TV shows, it seems that Beats has certainly perfected the sound quality. Unlike the earbuds, where I had to compensate for the slight amount of extra treble, there were no adjustments needed here.
They sound clean and clear for almost anything you can throw at it. The exception is at high volume levels, as the bass does creep in a bit, but it's certainly not in a heavy-handed way.
Beats 360 review: Apple and Android
As usual for Beats, while it is an Apple subsidiary, it does work to include Android support where possible.
Apple users can benefit from one-touch pairing, as well as iCloud Pairing and automatic switching between their Apple devices. Android also gets one-touch setup, and pairing and switching with other devices on the same Google account.
While there's Find My support on the Apple side, there's Find Hub on Android that lets you track your headphones down. However, you do get audio sharing on iOS, which is seemingly absent on Android.
The functionality and firmware updates are handled within Apple's operating systems, though you get a lot of the same features on Android too. It's just handled in the Beats App instead of being deeply integrated into the operating system.
Beats 360 review: Charging and connectivity
As wireless headphones, there's connectivity with your hardware over Bluetooth 5.3. This is fine, as you wouldn't necessarily expect much in the way of a real benefit for switching to Bluetooth 6 here.
However, while hardware like the Beats Studio Pro and the AirPods Max do allow you to use a physical USB-C or 3.5mm connection with your devices, it's not the case here. The USB-C port is only used for charging, not for data.
This isn't necessarily a nightmare for the intended audience who care more about hearing a song at all while lifting weights rather than wanting to hear every single detail. But for the audiophile who wants to listen to lossless audio, it's certainly not possible with the Beats 360.
They sound great, but lossless is just unavailable.
Beats 360 review: They're comfortable to wear, even by people with massive heads, like this reviewer.
When it comes to power, with ANC or Transparency on, you can get a massive 32 hours of audio playback from a single charge.
While we haven't managed to drain the headphones in our testing yet, it's safe to say that the Beats 360 will outlast your workout by a long shot.
Weekend travelers will also be happy that they don't necessarily need to charge them every day either.
If you do somehow manage to exhaust them, the fast-charging capability is pretty neat. A five-minute charge will give up to an hour of playback, which is a fairly good power exchange rate.
Beats 360 review: No sweat
As far as premium headphones go, Apple and Beats know what works well. However, it's evident that the Beats side of things is more willing to experiment and shake things up.
That's what it has done with the Beats 360. It's a pair of headphones that sound just how you would expect premium personal audio devices to be.
Though the new cushion system is nice from a personalization and replaceable component angle, it's extremely comfortable to wear for long periods. As our testing also discovered, they're not going to move from your head without some extreme head motion.
Really, the only ding that we can hit it with is the lack of physical connectivity. It'll upset the audiophiles but it doesn't matter that much here.
Beats 360 review: In the box you get the headphones, a carrying pouch, and one set of the Performance Knit cushions
As headphones that you pick up and go out the door wearing while on a well-meaning quest to get rid of the paunch, they're an ideal pick. They're comfy, they sound great, and they have a battery life that will get you quite a few gym sessions before needing to be plugged in again.
While I am not exactly someone who cares about doing exercise on a regular basis, the Beats 360 are at least a welcome alternative to my earbuds when going for an out-of-house walk. Thanks to the local weather being less than great, I'm also not going to worry about a little occasional rain interrupting my music.
All without the pressure on the inside of my ear canals that earbuds inherently create.
What Beats have come up with is a serious in-house alternative to the AirPods Max that you can comfortably work out in. At $349, it's also saving you money.
Beats 360 review pros
- Balanced sound
- Reasonably weighted
- Very comfortable and changeable cushions and earcups
- Sweat resistance
Beats 360 review cons
- No cable-based audio
- Cushion kit prices are a little steep
