Let me tell you something, folks, I absolutely love the Beats 360 headphones. After spending weeks listening to a mix of hip-hop, rock, electronic, and more, I keep coming back to how much I enjoy their sound, particularly the bass. Add effective noise cancellation and useful Apple integration, and these are headphones I genuinely enjoy using.
At $349.99 (available here), a couple decisions deserve criticism. There is no USB-C charging cable in the box and the controls take some learning. In other words, the buttons are surprisingly not intuitive.
The missing cable is the first annoyance you encounter. Beats includes the headphones with either Performance Knit cushions (Black, Cloud, Pink, Navy, Sky, or Volt) or UltraPlush cushions (Black or Cloud). You do get a woven ripstop carrying case, but apparently a simple cable to charge your $350 purchase is asking too much. Yes, I already own USB-C cables, but leaving one out at this price is pretty wild.
Thankfully, the listening experience gives me plenty of reasons to move past that frustration. I absolutely love the bass, especially with hip-hop and electronic. Switching to rock and other music did not diminish my enthusiasm, either.
I am not going to bury you in audiophile terminology or pretend I performed laboratory measurements. These sound great to my ears, and listening through them is a pleasure. That matters more to me than repeating every technical claim on the product page.
Comfort is another strength, with an important qualification about the cushions. I have literally spent hours lying in bed at night watching TikTok and YouTube and listening to Apple Music while wearing these headphones. With the UltraPlush cushions installed, they remain comfortable throughout those extended sessions.
The Performance Knit ear pads are a different story. They can feel a bit scratchy after a while, whereas I find the UltraPlush cushions far more comfortable. Those use engineered leather rather than knit, and they are my preference for extended wear.
Swapping the ear pads is super easy, and I love having different colors and materials to choose from. The headband cushion is interchangeable, too, with each additional cushion kit including both earcup cushions and a headband cushion. Being able to replace those contact points also adds practical value beyond changing the appearance.
Active Noise Cancellation works particularly well in my experience. I had workers at the house making loud repairs, and ANC allowed me to tune out the noise from their work and enjoy my music. That was a useful real-world test of a feature that can otherwise sound like just another checkbox.
Transparency mode is available when you want to hear your surroundings. Better yet, I can switch between Transparency and noise cancellation right from the settings on my iPhone or iPad. That suits me better than remembering which button to press on the headphones.
The physical controls are a little confusing, both in remembering which button does what and in how they handle track changes. Rather than offering dedicated forward and back buttons, Beats makes you double-click the playback button to skip ahead and triple-click it to go back. It feels odd initially, although you do get used to it.
In practice, I usually change tracks and adjust the volume using my devices anyway. That makes the arrangement less bothersome for me, but I would still prefer more straightforward controls. Something as basic as going back to the previous song should not require much thought.
Apple integration helps make up for that irritation. I particularly love iCloud pairing: pair the Beats 360 with one Apple device, and they become available to connect on your other supported devices signed in to the same Apple Account. Not having to repeat the pairing process on each device is a convenience I really appreciate.
Other supported Apple features include automatic switching, audio sharing, Find My, and hands-free Siri. Android users also get useful functionality, including Fast Pair, Audio switch, Find Hub, and product settings through the Beats app. These are not headphones reserved for people carrying an iPhone.
Battery life fell a bit short of the advertised maximum in my experience. Beats promises up to 32 hours with Active Noise Cancellation and Personalized Spatial Audio enabled, but I tend to listen with the volume a bit high. That could help explain the difference, although I do not know how my listening volume compares with Apple’s testing conditions.
I also tested Fast Fuel, which promises up to an hour of playback from a five-minute charge, and found it came pretty close to that claim. That quick top-up is useful when you want to get back to listening without waiting around for a full charge.
The headphones also carry an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance. That offers some protection against splashes, but it does not make them waterproof.
Ultimately, the Beats 360 earn my recommendation. The bass, effective ANC, and convenient Apple integration make them enjoyable everyday headphones, and the UltraPlush cushions let me wear them comfortably for hours. My complaints have not stopped me from reaching for them. I truly love these headphones, and I highly recommend them.
Disclosure: Beats provided the headphones and additional cushion kits for this review.
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