One of the codenames that were discovered by MacRumors in the macOS 26.7 release candidate is B518, which appears to be for the upcoming Beats 360, and since Beats has been acquired by Apple, these upcoming over-the-ear headphones could stack up comparably against Apple’s own AirPods Max in several areas.
At first glance, the Beats 360 will have a total redesign that sets them apart from the existing Beats Studio Pro. It will also closely resemble the design of the AirPods Max, as the Beats 360 will have a rounder design with mesh fabric ear cups/headband for ultra-comfort. Similar to AirPods Max, not only will the ear cups be interchangeable, but so will the headband as well. Additionally, the headphones will include the Performance Knit cushions, but they could be configurable with an UltraPlush option. The headphones will come in Pink, Black, Sky, and Cloud, with the possibility of Volt and Navy as additional colors. One true advantage that the Beats 360 will have over the AirPods Max and even current Beats over-the-ear options is that the Beats 360 will truly be sweat-resistant and water-resistant for the first time on an over-the-ear headphone from Beats.
The Beats 360 will have these other features/improvements:
- 1.75x improved active noise cancellation over the Beats Studio Pro
- High-fidelity acoustic platform for deeper bass and ultra-low distortion
- Personalized spatial audio and dynamic head tracking
- Exceptional call quality thanks to improved AI-trained algorithms and beam-forming mics
- Sweat- and water-resistant with IPX4 rating
- Universal compatibility with Apple and Android devices
- Fold-flat design for convenient storage with the included woven ripstop fabric case
Pricing is expected to start at $299 in the United States, and so far, it has appeared in the U.S. FCC database and Brazil’s ANATEL regulatory database as of today, as spotted by MacRumors. Even soccer players such as Lamine Yamal and Antonee Robinson were spotted wearing them around during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With recent leaks in regulatory databases, it’s more likely that we’ll see these headphones within a few weeks.
