Beats 360 over-ear headphones: bold colours, flexible style

Beats 360 features interchangeable ear cushions

(Image credit: Beats)

Premium quality is the new everyday and over-ear headphones are the new earbuds. That seems to be the logic behind the launch of the newest pair of headphones from Beats, Apple’s younger, hipper audio sub-brand. The new Beats 360 are flagship headphones with flexible design, high levels of durability and ultra-light wearability, pitched at a generation who want all-round comfort and immersive sound, whether walking to work, taking a gym class or simply lounging around to listen to sounds.

Part of the appeal of Beats – founded by musician Dr. Dre and record industry impresario Jimmy Iovine in 2006 – is that it has managed to bring headphones back into the heart of pop culture. The pro-grade Beats Studio model was launched in 2008, with the Gen 2 version following in 2013. The next year, Beats made headlines by becoming Apple’s largest ever purchase – the company was acquired for $3.2bn.

The current product is the flagship Studio Pro, but Beats 360 will now take the crown, doubling down on the increasing popularity of over-ear headphones in places like the gym and jogging track. The design has been directly inspired by the colours, materials and forms of athletic footwear, seen in the lightweight, layered and breathable material of the cushions, as well as a sporting palette of colours.

Overall, Beats 360 are 30 per cent lighter than Studio Pro. The new design also uses 80 per cent recycled plastic and 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements in the magnets, as well as 100 per cent recycled packaging.

In addition to the durability of this new Performance Knit (featuring 36 micro-threads woven into a diamond pattern) that swathes the memory foam cushions, the material is also breathable as well as water- and sweat-resistant (with an IPX4 rating).

Six colours are available, Black, Cloud, Pink, Sky, Navy, and Volt, and crucially, the cushions are fully swappable. Not only does this mean they can be washed, but myriad colour combos can be constructed depending on your mood.

The six Performance Knit colours are joined by two UltraPlush colours, Black and Cloud, that make the most of this soft engineered leather. That gives even more combinations of colour and headband.

To change the cushions, a simple slot fastening is deployed that also automatically adjusts the acoustics to the type of material used. Beats 360 has gone through Apple’s raft of reliability tests to create headphones that are as resilient as they are stylish.

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Enhanced tech specs

‘Beats didn’t just participate in the rise of over-ear headphones – we helped define the category,’ says Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Music, Sports, and Beats, fresh from announcing the arrival of Apple Music Hall in London’s Battersea. ‘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.’

Tech specs include three-layer diaphragms and dual neodymium magnets in each driver for better bass delivery and less distortion, while those who want to truly escape into their music will appreciate Beats’ next generation adaptive Active Noise Cancelling system, said to be create 1.75x more total noise cancellation than Beats Studio Pro.

You’ll also find Personalized Spatial Audio on board, together with Dolby Atmos. The former is Apple’s proprietary spatial sound system and uses the Beats 360’s onboard built-in accelerometer and gyroscope in the left earcup to track your head movements to add a sense of depth and immersion in compatible audio. A total of nine microphones are scattered around the device to deliver ultra-clear call audio and feed the ANC system.

Beats 360 pairs swiftly with both Apple and Android systems via Bluetooth 5.3, while Apple users are naturally better catered for. In addition to Personalized Spatial Audio, the new headphones provide access to Siri, add spatial audio to FaceTime, and device location tracking.

Physical controls are placed on the back of each earcup – volume and play/pause on the right, power and listening mode on the left. Battery life is quoted at a maximum of 32 hours, while the USB-C charger can deliver one hour of playback in just five minutes of charging.

Beats has cannily seeded the 360 amongst a bunch of sports folk and sporty folk, with a campaign headed up by ubiquitous spokesperson Kendall Jenner. Marking yet another victory for the athleisurification of everyday life, Beats 360 look set to be popular choice amongst the perennially mobile.

Beats 360, £350 (introductory price £299.95), with Cushion Kits from £49.95 (introductory price £9.95), Beats Studio Pro is now £249.99, BeatsbyDre.com, @BeatsbyDre

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House, and co-edits the long-running things magazine weblog.