The AirPods Max 2 may be stylish and have some of the best active noise cancellation (ANC) in any pair of wireless headphones, but they’re also big and heavy, which automatically makes them less than comfortable for working out. Apple-owned Beats took it upon itself to solve that problem with the new Beats 360.
Believe it or not, the $349 Beats 360 over-ear wireless headphones are the company’s first pair of over-ear headphones (wired or wireless) with IPX4 sweat and water resistance. For some reason, despite hiring big-name athletes like LeBron James to promote its over-ear headphones, Beats has never designed its over-ear cans specifically for active lifestyles. The company already sells wireless earbuds, like the Powerbeats Pro 2, that can withstand bodily fluid, light rain, and liquid splashes.
Besides its $200 cheaper price, the Beats 360 have a few other features going for it compared to AirPods Max 2. I don’t have an exact weight measurement, but the Beats 360, thanks to their slim design and plastic materials, are much, much lighter on my dome. Beats says they’re similar in weight to the Beats Studio Pro, which weigh 260g. In comparison, the AirPods Max 2 clock in at 386g. It makes sense that the Beats 360 would be so light—they’re designed for wear during runs and workouts. In that regard, the “performance knit woven” ear cushions are also more breathable to allow sweat to easily pass through.
Inspired by the many colorways that sneakers come in, Beats also made the 360 customizable. With a light pull or twist, you can easily remove the headband and ear cups and swap them in with ones made of a different material or color. Beats will sell performance knit woven and “ultra plush” cushions; the latter resembles leather. At launch, Beats says users will be able to create over 250 combinations. I love the mix-and-match aspect, but Beats is also not the first company to push for personalization on wireless headphones. Dyson’s OnTrac also have customizable ear caps and cushions, though that pair costs $500.
Of course, these features are all secondary to sound quality when you’re forking out $350 for wireless headphones. Fortunately, Beats delivers here. In my brief listening time with the Beats 360, I appreciated the balanced frequencies with clear mids, punctuated highs, and solid bass. The bass is not heavy like Beats headphones used to be known for, but the Beats 360 have enough oomph to help you power through. Granted, I listened to the Beats 360 while sitting down and standing up and not while running or working out, but still, the tuning sounded good.
That shouldn’t surprise anybody at all. The Beats 360 are using Apple’s audio processing tech, specifically the H2 chip that’s found in the AirPods Max 2. Beats says the 360 have new “dual neodymium ring magnet drivers” and nine microphones to help achieve the “best-sounding product that Beats has ever made.” ANC is 1.75x better than the Studio Pro headphones, according to the company. The H2 chip also enables Apple quality-of-life features such as Transparency mode, hands-free Siri, fast-switching between Apple devices, adaptive EQ, personalized spatial audio support for Apple devices, and Dolby Atmos.
And because when you’re working out you’ll probably prefer tactility, the wireless headphones have buttons for everything. There’s a “listening mode” button for turning ANC on and off and switching to other listening modes and a volume rocker for the usual play/pause and song skip/rewind.
Beats is advertising up to 32 hours of continuous listening time with ANC or spatial audio turned on. That’s 12 hours more than the AirPods Max 2.
We’ll have to spend more time with the Beats 360 in the gym and on runs before we can determine if these are the best over-ear wireless headphones for working out in, but they look and sound great so far. The Beats 360 will be available on Sept. 24.
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