The Beats 360 are lighter, cheaper, and way more comfortable than Apple's AirPods Max

Published Sep 22, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT Patrick O'Rourke is XDA's News Editor and Entertainment Segment Lead. Previously, he was Pocket-lint's Editor-in-Chief, the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian tech publication MobileSyrup, and earlier in his career, he worked as the technology editor at the Financial Post and Postmedia. He's based in Toronto. Over the past 15 years, he's written thousands of articles. Patrick has also interviewed dozens of tech industry executives and covered GDC, E3, Gamescom, WWDC, Apple keynotes, Samsung Unpacked events and more. Patrick has a BA in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. Summary The Beats 360 blends AirPods Max polish with a lighter, comfier design and swappable cushions for bold customization. The headphones feature improved ANC, 32‑hour battery life, Spatial Audio, and Android Fast Pair make them practical daily drivers. The new Beats 360 start at $350. Beats has unveiled the Beats 360, the Apple-owned headphone and earbud brand's new flagship over-ear headphones. What strikes me most about the sleek-looking over-ear headphones is that they have a lot in common with Apple's pricey $550 AirPods Max 2. In fact, they solve several key issues with Apple's pricey over-ear headphones: the Beats 360 are far more comfortable and much lighter, and they take things a step further with cool customization options. Beats says that its new Beats 360 feature a "precision-engineered acoustic system" with a custom acoustic transducer, improved Active Noise Cancelling that's 1.75x better than what the Beats Studio Pro offer, and new interchangeable ear cushions. Other key features include an IPX4 sweat- and water-resistant rating and, of course, a range of flashy colors, including Black, Cloud, Pink, and Sky. Beats offers different ear cushion options for the Beats 360, including a breathable Performance Knit option and a higher-end UltraPlush version, both with matching headband cushions. Performance Knit colors include Black, Cloud, Pink, Sky, Navy, and Volt, while UltraPlush is available in Black and Cloud. Pricing starts at $9.99 for a limited time, before jumping to $50 (which, for the record, is kind of wild). The key features you'd expect in headphones at this price point are all here, too, including Active Noise-Cancelling, Adaptive EQ, Transparency Mode, Spatial Audio, and even Dolby Atmos. The Beats 360 are available to order now for $350 and will hit store shelves and Apple.com on September 24th. It feels like Beats is trying to get back its cultural cachet The Beats 360 are comfortable and sound great While I've only used the Beats 360 for a few days, I've been impressed with their sound profile. The bass doesn't quite match the AirPods Max or Sony's popular WH series headphones, but the soundstage is very wide and surprisingly detailed with ample highs and lows. The Beats 360 really shine in how comfortable they are to wear for long periods. The more breathable Performance Knit earcups really help with this, but I can see the UltraPlush option making more sense as the weather cools down. You can, of course, mix and match earcups to create flashy combinations, too. While the interchangeable earcups don't pop off like the AirPods Max, they're still easy to remove and require only a slight twist (I actually like this more because they're secured better). In a way, the fact that the earcups can be easily swapped feels like Beats admitting that after a few years, its headphone cups start to disintegrate and rot. I think I've bought at least two different sets of Beats Solo Pros over the past five years or so. Like the AirPods Max and other larger over-ear headphones, the Beats 360 cover your entire ear, making them more comfortable for longer wear. They're also much lighter than the AirPods Max, yet still feel pretty premium, particularly for Beats' headphones, which can sometimes feel kind of cheap compared to more premium brands. The Beats 360 slide easily into an included magnetic soft case that protects the headphones, unlike the AirPods Max, which still feature that ridiculous-looking case that covers only part of the expensive headphones. I do wish they folded up, though, so that feels like a miss on Beats' part. It's been great to see the Beats 360's custom chip work seamlessly across Apple and Android, including Fast Pair and Audio Switch. Lastly, the battery life clocks in at 32 hours with ANC on or off, which is pretty standard for over-ear headphones. On a side note, I really like that Beats went with physical buttons for the Beats 360. As much as I like capacitive touch controls on headphones, they can often be inaccurate and frustrating, especially when you're doing something active with them on. The one key issue I've encountered is that there's a slight hiss in the background when Active Noise Cancelling is off and on. This isn't a deal-breaker, and it disappears as soon as audio starts playing, but it's still weird and not something I've encountered with other headphones. It's interesting to see Beats try to reclaim some of the cool factor the company once held back in the early 2010s. It's almost like the company took what worked well with the AirPods Max and put its own, far more practical spin on it.