The Beats 360 went on sale on September 24, 2026, at an announced US price of $349.99, according to the Beats announcement. Buyers soon began reporting audible hissing, including when no music was playing. But owner discussions don’t show how many devices are affected, and reports about the firmware’s effect differ. For now, this is a signal worth noting, but not confirmation of a defect affecting the entire model.
What owners are reporting
In Reddit discussions, some users describe background noise that can be heard in quiet surroundings and, they say, persists across different settings. Others write that their units don’t hiss. These are self-reports, not device tests conducted under the same conditions or statistics on support requests, so they can’t establish either the scale of the issue or its cause. Here are reports of hissing and contrasting owner impressions.
The firmware doesn’t provide an answer yet
MacRumors reported that firmware 4A262 became available for the Beats 360 on September 22, replacing version 4A260, but noted that the update’s contents were unknown. Owners describe its effects differently: some say the hissing remained, while others say the sound changed or the noise disappeared. These impressions don’t establish a cause-and-effect relationship; the materials reviewed contain no published change log linking the update to a fix for the hissing, according to MacRumors’ report.
What’s known about the headphones
Beats announced the model on September 22 and said retail sales would begin on September 24. Its design features include replaceable ear cushions and a headband cover: Apple’s guide explains how to replace these parts. This confirms that the cushions can be changed, but doesn’t prove that the headphones as a whole are repairable or that their electronics are durable. The details are in the Beats announcement.
Beats also claims that the model’s combined active and passive noise cancellation is up to 1.75 times more effective than the Beats Studio Pro’s. This is the manufacturer’s comparison, based on its stated methodology, not an independent measurement verified here. Beats’ announcement provides the claim.
The first editorial reviews appeared on September 22—the day the headphones were announced and before retail sales began. For example, Tom’s Guide’s review assessed the fit, sound, and noise cancellation. But an early review of a single unit doesn’t show how much devices bought by ordinary customers vary, and it can’t answer how widespread the reports are.
More confident conclusions would require reproducible tests of several retail units, with firmware versions documented, and public information about any possible link between the noise and the software or device. For now, that data isn’t available, so it’s accurate to talk about user reports rather than a widespread defect—and not to treat the absence of reports from some owners as proof that there is no problem.