The Beats 360 are eye-catching and impressively customizable, but does the listening experience match up?

Looks are one thing, listening experience is another. By Bethany Allard Bethany Allard Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard is a Los Angeles-based shopping reporter at Mashable covering beauty tech, dating, sex and relationships, and headphones. That basically means she puts her hair through a lot, scrolls through a lot of dating apps, and rotates through a lot of different headphones. In addition to testing out and rounding up the best products, she also covers deals for Mashable, paying an especially obsessive amount of attention to Apple deals and prices. That knowledge comes in handy when she's covering shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, which she's now done for three years at Mashable. Read Full Bio on November 1, 2026 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Flipboard All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Table of Contents If you don't like the look of the Beats 360 headphones, you might as well click out of this review now. That's not to say these headphones are only as good as their appearance — they do have their strengths — but if the many colorways Beats started teasing back in June via World Cup players wasn't enough of a hint, a big part of the allure of these Beats are how they look. After spending a couple of weeks with these headphones, and switching out many an ear cushion and head band, I found myself more impressed with some aspects of these headphones, and surprisingly let down in others. While a solid first attempt at this concept, I have some notes — so let's get into it. Beats 360 at a glance The pink/blue combo demanded a cute background. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable The new flagship headphones from Beats run for $349.99 (the same intro price as the Beats Studio Pro) and come with the following features: Battery life: 32 hours per chargeActive noise cancellation: YesMicrophones: Nine, with eight dedicated to ANCIP rating: IPX4Connection: Bluetooth 5.3, one-touch pairing for Apple and Google Fast Pair for Android usersColors: Black, cloud, sky, pinkThe design of the Beats 360 can't be beat (so far) The replaceable components meant allowed me to rock an all pink look. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable The Beats 360 aren't the first over-ear headphones to do swappable components: Dyson's OnTrac headphones launched with replaceable ear plates and cushions back in 2024. They did, however, also cost $499.99 and are less suited to using during exercise than the Beats. The Beats cushion sets are the main draw of their design. The headphones themselves come in four different colors: black, cloud (cream), pink, and sky (light blue). Each headphone will come with its corresponding color in the Performance Knit cushion set, which closely resembles that found on the AirPods Max 2. You'll also have the option of purchasing an additional Performance Knit set in one of six different colors: black, cloud, pink, sky, navy, and volt (a neon green-yellow). Then there are two shades of the UltraPlush cushion set, which comes in black and cloud. The UltraPlush is the same faux leather material used on the Beats Studio Pro (and found on most over-ear headphones). That is to say, they're plenty comfortable for longer periods of wear and a nice alternative if you want to reserve the Performance Knit cushions for more high-activity use. All additional kits are priced at $49.99, but launch pricing has these marked down 80% for just $9.99. The de-cushioned Beats surrounded by three cushioning options. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable It's plenty simple to swap out the cushions, which is why I was surprised by the case. These headphones encourage you to swap them out for different uses throughout the day, yet the magnetic closure case didn't consistently shut properly with an additional cushion set — sometimes it closed just fine, and sometimes I found myself needing to place the headphones and the components in the case just so if I didn't want it to hang open. With the right positioning of the extra cushions, the case closed without issue. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable But sometimes, despite my best efforts, the case refused to close. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable Another oversight in the design I didn't love was the lack of a headphone jack and lack of USB-C listening functionality. It's not the end of the world, but it can limit listening options, especially while traveling or for anyone interested in lossless audio — a feature supported by the Beats Studio Pro. Where the Beats 360 could definitely do betterThe out-of-box sound on a pair of headphones could literally sound like thousands of angels singing in my ears, but if I'm paying $349.99, I would like the option to adjust my own sound signature. Maybe I want one less angel singing! It's a concept Apple seems to understand with the recent iOS 27 update, which finally gave the AirPods Pro 3 a custom equalizer, but these Beats were left out of the software update. Adjustable audio would've gone a long way for these customizable headphones. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable It's unfortunate, especially because the sound on these headphones not only didn't have the whole angel thing going on — it sounded kind of flat and bland, which feels decidedly un-Beats-like. The brand is known for its pumping bass, but here, the mids and vocals take center stage. Case in point: I was not bopping my head along to Lorde's "Supercut," which is a feat I frankly didn't know was possible. On a different point in the genre spectrum, Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" sounded predictably beautiful because it's a Joni Mitchell song — the balance of sound, however, leaned too heavily on her vocals and shrank the guitar into the background. I found myself itching to adjust the equalizer settings while listening to the track. The ANC isn't bad Faring better than the sound is the ANC. Though it won't create the cocoon of silence some of Mashable's favorite noise-cancelling headphones are capable of, they'll definitely dim the sounds of a student-packed cafe playing loud punk music (trust me). That said, mid-range priced headphones are facing some serious competition from budget headphones these days, which are getting better and better at providing ANC that punches above its weight class. The combo of the UltraPlush cushions and ANC made these headphones great for work. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable There's also the presence of some hissing that's somewhat noticeable without music playing — it's not nearly as loud as some cheaper pairs of headphones, but if you're sensitive to ANC that hisses, it's worth noting. Are the Beats 360 worth it? At this point, the Beats 360 don't quite have the 360 appeal that they could with a few small changes. The component customization makes it easy to envision a world where these are the headphones people take to the gym instead of AirPods Max, while still being a great pair of headphones to use for work, school, commuting — true all-arounders. But middling ANC, OK sound, and zero equalizer for $350 makes it hard to recommend these wholeheartedly to the majority of folks, especially when cheaper headphones can manage all of the above, even if they don't feature the same customization. I anticipate that gym rats will love them — I look forward to the next iteration when the rest of us can, too. I spent two weeks using the Beats 360 regularly. During my testing period, I evaluated the following features: Sound quality: As I do with all headphones, I listened to a variety of genres on these headphones, from pop to R&B. I especially focused on more bass-heavy songs, as Beats is known for its capability to make the low tones shine. Active noise cancellation: I wore these headphones in my apartment, out and about while working at crowded cafes, or taking walks around my neighborhood. As always, I tried my best to expose them to as varied noisy environments as I could, while testing the ANC with and without additional audio streaming. Design: I always test headphones for how long I can wear them, but with the design being a hallmark feature of these Beats, I made sure to swap between my different sets of Performance Knit and UltraPlush cushions. I tested both for comfort and durability (as much as was possible in these early phases). I also used the on-ear tactile controls regularly while listening to audio. Value: Taking the performance of all of the above criteria into consideration, I evaluated whether or not this price felt fair, incorporating my knowledge and experience with cheaper, similarly priced, and more expensive over-ear headphones. Bethany Allard is a Los Angeles-based shopping reporter at Mashable covering beauty tech, dating, sex and relationships, and headphones. That basically means she puts her hair through a lot, scrolls through a lot of dating apps, and rotates through a lot of different headphones. In addition to testing out and rounding up the best products, she also covers deals for Mashable, paying an especially obsessive amount of attention to Apple deals and prices. That knowledge comes in handy when she's covering shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, which she's now done for three years at Mashable.