Hours after Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo in Cupertino, California, BGR attended a hands-on experience a few miles away for another major new release: the Beats 360 headphones. The new over-ear headphones are the most versatile product we’ve ever seen from the company, with powerful sound, impressive comfort, and plenty of style. In addition to reviewing the Beats 360, we also had the opportunity to speak with Oliver Schusser, President of Beats and Vice President of Apple Music, who previously told us about the Powerbeats Fit line. This time around, we discussed the latest headphones, Beats’ relationship with Apple, and the future of the company’s accessory lines.
What’s most interesting about Beats 360 is how different they are from almost everything we’ve seen from Beats in the past. With a focus on customization, users can choose from more than 256 combinations on day one. You may never see another pair that looks exactly like yours. “It’s only been a few years since we launched Studio Pro,” Schusser noted, “but we wanted to create a different type of over-ear product that addresses a different use case, namely the active lifestyle.”
According to Schusser, Beats noticed how many people started wearing over-ear headphones to the gym. Beats saw an opening. With this release, Beats has combined breathable materials, a snug grip, and a more headphone-like experience into a pair of over-ear headphones.
Beats wants its own iPhone Duo moment
Filipe Espósito/Woozad
While the iPhone Duo represents a new era for the iPhone, Beats is going through a similar evolution with Beats 360. While the company took the category by storm when it entered the market in 2008, this is an opportunity to chart a new course alongside its parent company.
On top of that, these Beats headphones sound great, and even though the company chose not to use Apple’s proprietary audio chips, the sound is crisp, clear, and powerful. “It’s a case-by-case decision as to which chip we use,” Schusser told BGR. “What’s important to us is that we want to be optimized for both iOS and Android. With this chip, users can benefit from personalized Spatial Audio, and Android users can also benefit from the full feature set.”
One of the unique features of the Beats 360 headphones is the ability to replace the ear cushions and headband. Customers can choose between four different frames, eight cushions (in performance knit and breathable and UltraPlush options) and eight different headbands. To celebrate the release, Beats is offering these add-on accessories for $9.99, but they’ll eventually go up to $49.99 each.
Beats, Apple and the future of accessories
José Adorno/BGR
During the interview, I asked Schusser about the relationship between Apple and Beats. After all, Beats 360 sounds great, but they make a few compromises: no auto play/pause functionality, no live translation, and no support for lossless features, which Beats added before Apple. Even when Beats was the first to introduce a feature, like the heart rate sensor available on the Powerbeats Pro 2, the feature wasn’t fully supported by the iPhone until Apple released the AirPods Pro 3 with the same feature a few months later. This gives the impression that Apple wants to ensure that AirPods will always be prioritized.
However, Schusser tells me that in the organization, the teams are the same and that these decisions are all very conscious. “It all depends on what we want the product to be, what price we want it to be at,” he says. “We also want to make sure our headphones work equally well on the iOS and Android platforms. Yet everyone at Apple is proud to have Beats, and everyone at Beats is proud to be part of Apple. Customers can choose between AirPods and Beats, and the good news is that they coexist side by side in a beautiful way.”
Asked about cases, which were absent from this year’s iPhone 18 Pro release, Schusser confirms that Beats is, for now, moving away from this sector. “We’ve had two rounds of iPhone cases. We actually learned a lot and decided not to make any cases this year. However, one of the things that worked extremely well for us was the cables. They are very popular and we plan to add even more colors to them.” Schusser also teases that there’s even more to come from Beats, meaning the company may not be completely done with releasing new accessories.
