Happy Mean Girls Day! If you’ve been living under a rock (or, like Cady, homeschooled in Africa), there are a range of ways to celebrate October 3rd. And we’ve opted to go with a new pair of headphones.
(For the uninitiated, in the 2004 cult classic movie, Cady’s crush, Aaron Samuels, turns around in calculus class and asks her what day it is. She replies, “It’s October 3rd.” It’s a tiny moment, but fans have been celebrating it ever since.)
Now, back to the dress code. While Mean Girls might typically wait till Wednesdays to wear pink, given that today is Saturday, we’ve reviewed the rules and decided they’re flexible.
Today, we’re rocking the Beats 360 in Pink anyway. And Regina can take it up with Principal Duvall if she doesn’t like it.
The look
Candy-floss pink, and absolutely not subtle about it. These headphones walked into the room like Mrs George: not a regular headphone, a cool headphone.
The party trick is the interchangeable cushions. This is the first over-ear Beats with swappable earcup and headband cushions, so your headphones can change outfits more often than Karen Smith. The Pink pair ships with matching Performance Knit cushions. Extra kits come in Black, Cloud, Pink, Sky, Navy and Volt, plus UltraPlush (the same seamless engineered leather as Studio Pro and Solo 4) in Black and Cloud.
Pink on pink for Wednesdays. Navy for the “this meeting could have been an email” look. Volt for the gym, where you will be seen.
Kits are $79.95 normally, but until October 31 they’re $14.95 in Australia and a few other markets. The limit is three per customer, while supplies last. Three for you, Glen Coco. You go, Glen Coco.
That’s cheaper than photocopying the Burn Book 300 times, and far less likely to ruin your life. Buy all three. Be unreasonable.
The sound
Pretty face, sure, but these can sing. Beats built an all-new acoustic platform with custom drivers, three-layer diaphragms and dual neodymium magnets in each one. Translation: the bass hits, the detail is sharp, and the distortion is basically absent. If you want to relisten to the Plastics’ iconic “Jingle Bell Rock” routine from the Winter Talent Show, we’ll hazard a guess that these will make it sound even better than the original.
Adaptive EQ keeps adjusting to how the headphones sit on your head, so the sound stays consistent even when you’re fidgeting. Add Personalised Spatial Audio with head tracking and Dolby Atmos, and a Mean Girls rewatch feels like you’re sitting inside the Burn Book. Dangerous. Do it anyway.
The noise cancelling
The most powerful ANC Beats has made, with up to 1.75x more total noise cancellation than Beats Studio Pro. Nine mics are working on it, eight of them for ANC. The train, the open-plan office and your flatmate’s takes on the dishes all get politely ignored. Flip on Transparency mode when you actually need to hear the world, like when someone yells your name or “it’s your stop.”
On calls, a beam-forming mic zeroes in on your voice, so you can take a call in a loud café without sounding like you’re underwater.
Sweat, rain, repeat
It’s the first over-ear Beats with an IPX4 rating, so gym sweat and a surprise shower are fine. It is not a swim-in-the-pool headphone, so skip the dramatic Spring Fling dunk. It folds flat into a woven ripstop case, and the slim headband is light enough that you’ll forget it’s there until someone compliments the colour.
Battery and connectivity
- Battery: Up to 32 hours with ANC and Spatial Audio on. As far as your day is concerned, the limit does not exist. Fast Fuel gives you an hour of playback from five minutes on the USB-C charger.
- Apple: One-touch pairing, Hey Siri, Automatic Switching, Audio Sharing and Find My.
- Android: Fast Pair and Find Hub. Everyone’s invited to sit with us.
- Range: Class 1 Bluetooth 5.3, running on a custom Beats chip.
Fetch is officially happening
Gretchen can stop trying to make fetch happen. The Beats 360 just did it for her. They sound great, they’re comfy, the noise cancelling is the best Beats has done, and the pink gets people asking where you got them. So fetch.
They’re $499.95 (AUD) from apple.com/au in Black, Cloud, Pink or Sky. So get in, loser. We’re going to splurge and put on the pink.
And if anyone asks what day it is, you know what to say.
