Neil Hughes
Apple on Monday updated its top-of-the-line Beats Studio headphones, giving them the W1 chip for simple pairing, and also adding more advanced noise cancelation technology.
The new Beats Studio 3 Wireless headphones are now available to preorder from Apple, and ship in mid-October. They come in "Shadow Gray," "Porcelain Rose," "Matte Black," white, red, and blue.
Priced at $349.95, the Beats Studio 3 Wireless headphones feature what Apple has branded as Pure Adaptive Noise Canceling, which the company says delivers a premium listening experience blocking out distractions. Pure ANC continuously pinpoints and blocks external sounds while automatically responding to individual fit and music playback.
Pure ANC also features real-time audio calibration, constantly optimizing sound output to preserve clarity, range, emotion, and a premium listening experience, Apple said.
Battery life has also been improved, offering up to 22 hours of playback with Pure ANC, or 40 hours if noise canceling is disabled.
Apple has also included its "Fast Fuel" technology, allowing 10 minutes of charging to provide 3 hours of playback. Notably charging is done via a micro USB cable, not Lightning or USB-C.
The Bluetooth headphones feature Apple's W1 chip, allowing automatic syncing between Apple devices logged into the same iCloud account. The update brings Apple's W1 chip to the entire lineup of wireless Beats headphones.
Like the previous Studio headphones, the latest model features onboard call and music controls, as well as volume. The headphones also come with a RemoteTalk Cable with inline controls for wired playback.
Where to buy
B&H Photo, an Apple authorized reseller, is currently accepting pre-orders for the new Studio3 headphones. Priced at $349.95, these headphones qualify for free expedited shipping to contiguous U.S. addresses with no sales tax collected outside NY and NJ. For many shoppers outside those two states, this averages out to $28 in savings compared to buying direct.
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51 Comments
These look epic. Looks like it's time to start saving those pennies.
Too bad I just bought Beoplay H7 which are great, fit and finish is excellent, and they have removable batteries which removes the hassle of replacing it in the future.
I'm surprised that these updated Studio 3's still come with a micro-USB-B port on the device instead of Lightning or USB-C for charging.
I am sure there'll be lots of the usual "oh, they're all style not substance" or "too much base/treble/midrange/whatever" type posts soon enough.
So let me say something I've said a couple of times before, here on AI: the Beats Wireless Studio is the best pair of headphones I've ever owned. And I've owned a fair number in the past 45 years.