Beats gives each 360 earcup its own battery and antenna to earn an IPX4 rating

Take leather-padded over-ears to the gym and the sweat sits on top of the coating instead of soaking in. ZDNET's reviewer writes that repeated exposure makes the pads peel and crack, and that moisture then reaches inner parts that cannot handle water ingress ^[17]. Three gym sessions with the 360's Knit cushions produced less heat buildup in the earcups and less sweat around the ears ^[16].

Beats says the 360 is built internally much like a pair of true wireless earbuds ^[4]. Each earcup "operates as its own self-contained system" with "its own battery, antenna, and processing components", Beats said ^[5]. That design allows limited wiring inside the headband ^[6]. The Studio Pro carried a large multifunction button on the outside of the right earcup; the 360 rearranges those controls, and ZDNET's reviewer expects the new layout leaves fewer crevices for water to find ^[10].

The 360 takes neither a 3.5mm cable nor USB-C audio, and its USB-C port charges ^[7]. ZDNET's reviewer is inclined to attribute the missing wired path to the water rating, and in the same passage notes that Apple made the AirPods Pro 3 charging case waterproof despite its charging port ^[8][9]. The 360 already has a port that survives IPX4, so sealing alone does not explain dropping audio over it. Beats gives no reason in the review.

Dyson's OnTrac and Fender's Mix have swappable pads too ^[21]. What the 360 adds is a split by function. The Knit cushions wick sweat, and the headband padding comes off as well ^[15]. The porous Knit material is not conducive to effective noise cancellation or immersive listening, per the review, and Beats says the headphones carry tuning profiles that account for how different cushions interact with sound ^[18][19].

The pair ships with the Performance Knit kit, and the UltraPlush kit is a separate purchase that takes ZDNET's total to $400 ^[14]. That is $101 more than the $299 Nothing Headphone 1, which is rated IP52 ^[23][12]. The Nothing pair and the $1,250 Beoplay H95, at IP53, both resist dust where the 360 does not, and ZDNET rates both below the Beats on water ^[11][13].

What sorts this purchase is whether the headphones get sweated on or rained on, and whether a cable is ever required. Sweaty use with no cable requirement is the one quadrant where the 360 is the only candidate among the over-ears ZDNET names ^[3][13]. Sweaty use plus an occasional cable means a second pair in the bag, since there is no wired mode to fall back on ^[7]. Dry desk use with a cable requirement gets nothing from the rating and gives up the jack. Dry use without cables is the crowded quadrant, and there the 360's case rests on the cushions: with the Knit pads fitted, ZDNET reports cancellation that works on voices and higher-pitched noise ^[20].