Beats has presented new full-size wireless headphones Beats 360, designed in particular for use during workouts. They became the first Beats model with IPX4 water protection. The headphones are available in four colors, and their ear cups and headbands can be replaced and combined with each other.
Not sound, but the economics of spare parts
The most practical detail of the release is not battery life or ANC, but the fact that the wearable parts of the headphones are now sold separately. A set of replacement ear cups and headbands costs $50 — this is less than 15% of the price of the headphones themselves. For comparison: with most competitors, the foam ear cups dry out within a year or two, and after that people usually buy a new pair entirely because individual parts are simply not available for purchase.
The headphones feature new dynamic drivers with dual neodymium magnets and a custom Beats chip. The model supports active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and Spatial Audio with head movement tracking. Nine MEMS microphones are used for ANC.
Why a custom chip instead of Apple H2
The Beats 360 differ from previous full-size models of the brand in their IPX4 design and a custom Beats chip instead of Apple H1/H2. This decision seems illogical for a brand owned by Apple, but has a direct explanation: the custom chip made it possible to maintain compatibility with Android at the same level as iOS, whereas Apple's chips traditionally gave Android users a limited set of features.
The Beats 360 are compatible with both Apple and Android devices. In the first case, automatic device switching, Siri, and Find My are available, and for Android – Fast Pair, Find Hub, and Audio Switch. At the same time, the model does not have a wired audio mode — a decision that will definitely not please those who wanted to listen to headphones while charging or at events with sound where zero latency is important.
The manufacturer indicates battery life of up to 32 hours in both active noise cancellation mode and without it — this is unusual because typically ANC "eats up" up to a third of the charge.
The headphones can work for up to 32 hours without recharging. The price of Beats 360 is $350, and a separate set of replacement ear cups and headbands costs $50.
What this means for the market
If the idea of repairability takes hold in other Beats and Apple models, this could be the first signal that major electronics manufacturers are responding to EU legislation pressure on the "right to repair" not formally, but with real product solutions. The only question is whether replacement ear cups will appear for sale in Ukraine separately, or whether they will have to be ordered from abroad along with the headphones themselves.
