Innovation is great and all, but sometimes you just need to play the hits. That’s exactly what Beats have done with the Beats Studio Pro, which refine the iconic cans you’ve probably seen on celebrities and subway dwellers alike with a slicker design, improved audio, superb noise cancellation and a wealth of useful features you won’t find on competitors.

The Studio Pro hold up well against top rivals like the Sony WH-1000XM5 — and are a heck of a lot cheaper than the also trendy AirPods Max. So, should you splurge the $350 on them? I’ve used Beats’ new cans as my main headphones for close to a week to help you figure that out.

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Beats Studio Pro

Beats

If you want a stylish and versatile pair of noise-canceling headphones that work great on both iOS and Android, the Beats Studio Pro are well worth it.

$350 $170 at Target $350 $170 at Amazon $350 $170 at Best Buy

What we liked about them

A gorgeous and compact design

In terms of sheer design and aesthetics, the Beats Studio Pro just might be my favorite pair of headphones I’ve ever tested. They don’t mess much with the instantly recognizable design we last saw on the Studio 3 — Beats are a ubiquitous fashion accessory for a reason — instead making subtle and smart changes that make them a joy to wear, use and transport.

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The Studio Pro are even more understated than their predecessors, ditching the large “beats” text on the headband and introducing color-matched metallic hinges that create a more subtle, cohesive look. Speaking of colors, the Pro’s new set of hues — which include Sandstone, Deep Brown and Navy — are beautiful. I personally love the light beige of my Sandstone model since it goes well with just about everything I wear, but I was also very tempted by the Navy and Dark Brown. You really can’t go wrong here.

Fortunately, Beats’ newest headphones feel nearly as good as they look, with cushy memory foam ear cups coated in leather (a new design Beats calls “UltraPlush”) and an airy, 0.57-pound construction that’s lighter than the AirPods Max and on par with the Sony WH-1000XM5. The Studio Pro’s supple ear cups felt a little too snug at times — particularly while out in the sweltering summer heat — and I did find myself occasionally wanting to give my ears a rest from their somewhat tight fit every once in a while. However, once I was back in the safety of my air conditioner, I frequently wore the Studio Pro for hours at a time while working, cleaning and taking calls without giving them much second thought.

As someone who prefers physical controls to touch-based inputs, I found the Studio Pro’s buttons to be mostly convenient and intuitive. Pausing, playing and skipping tracks with the big Beats button on the left ear cup was a breeze, as was adjusting the volume with the buttons above and below it. However, I’m not as fond of the system button that controls things like power, pairing and switching between noise modes. It’s tiny and can be tricky to find, and having to double-tap it to activate active noise cancellation (ANC) or Transparency isn’t a great experience. Still, it was pretty easy to control my music and noise cancellation without ever having to take my phone out, and I’ll take these physical controls over the touch ones on Sony’s XM5.

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The Beats Studio Pro deserve just as much praise for their practicality as they do for their slick design. My absolute favorite thing about the headphones is the way you can fold them in half and stick them in the included compact carrying case, which takes up much less space than the Sony XM5 and the barely protective AirPods Max case. Beats headphones have offered this feature for years, but it still feels novel, and solves one of my biggest sticking points with headphones — they’re just too bulky to lug around.

Stellar noise cancellation and very good sound

The ANC on the Beats Studio Pro is some of the best I’ve used on a pair of headphones. These cans brought my apartment down to an eerie level of quiet, completely silencing the air conditioner and fan I had on full blast (again, it’s summer) to the point where I checked to make sure they were actually on a few times. The same goes for the woosh of nearby car traffic and most of the ear-piercing construction noises I walk past daily — only the highest-pitched smashing and drilling made it through the Studio Pro’s cups.

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And when it was time to stay alert, the Studio Pro’s Transparency mode made it easy to hear incoming pedestrians and carry out full conversations with neighbors as if I weren’t wearing headphones at all. Beats says that the new cans feature upgraded microphones that are more sensitive to nearby noise, and it shows — I’d put the ANC on these right up against heavyweights like the Sony XM5 and AirPods Pro. That said, I did find myself missing Sony’s Adaptive Sound Control, which automatically and reliably switches between ANC and ambient noise based on your surroundings. The AirPods family is set to get a similar feature called Adaptive Audio once iOS 17 hits this fall, though there’s no word if this perk will extend to the Beats lineup.

The Studio Pro’s excellent ANC made it very easy to focus on my usual mix of loud rock and somber indie, all of which sounded great on Beats’ headphones. The new Paramore album’s rowdy guitars and bouncy drums had plenty of bite, while the breathy vocals and lush instrumentation of The Japanese House’s breakup bangers came through in satisfyingly clear, soul-crushing detail. As with most Beats headphones, the Studio Pro go heavy on bass — your mileage may vary here, but I found that the extra low end added some nice urgency to tracks rather than just drowning out the rest of the instruments. Unlike on rivals like the Sony XM5, there’s no detailed equalizer option to fine-tune the sound to your exact liking (your only EQ choices are for music, entertainment and calls when in wired mode). I’d say the Beats sound good enough out of the box, but you should definitely try before you buy if possible.

These are the first Beats over-ear headphones to have true head-tracked Spatial Audio, which creates an immersive, concert-like soundstage on supported Apple Music tracks and select streaming apps. This allowed me to hear each individual member of Boygenius in vivid detail during their tightly woven harmonies as well as pick up on little sonic details I normally miss when jamming louder albums from bands like Turnstile and The Wonder Years. I find that Spatial Audio sounds wider and more engrossing on the AirPods Max, but it still works well here, especially for hundreds less than Apple’s headphones.

The Studio Pro is also a winner when it comes to call quality. I never got any complaints while using Beats’ cans during work meetings and personal calls, and the voice recordings I captured on them were relatively clear.

Robust features for both iOS and Android users

Beats headphones have earned a reputation for working just as well on Android as they do on iPhone, and that remains the case on the Studio Pro.

If you’re an Apple user, they’ll function much like a pair of AirPods. They’ll pair effortlessly, and you can hop into a dedicated menu within Settings for doing things like adjusting noise modes, customizing certain controls and even setting up Personalized Spatial Audio (a feature that’s otherwise limited to the AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, third-gen AirPods and Beats Fit Pro). You can use “Hey Siri” for quickly summoning Apple’s virtual assistant as well as utilize Find My in the event your headphones go missing.

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The Android experience is similarly robust, with Google Fast Pair support for quick syncing and the ability to pair to — and easily transition between — any Android or Chrome devices that use your Google account. Google Find My Device is supported, meaning Android users aren’t out of luck if they, too, misplace their cans. The Beats Android app mirrors many of the same options you’ll find in iOS’ Settings menu, making it easy to get a quick glance at battery life, change your call controls or switch between sound modes.

Whether you’re an audiophile or just don’t want your headphones to become a dud once the battery dies, you’ll be glad to hear that the Studio Pro support wired audio via both the 3.5mm and USB-C ports (you’ll even get cables for both right out of the box). The latter is significant for a pair of Beats headphones, as it’s the first time you can listen to music and charge your headphones from a single cable in wired mode.

Going wired over USB-C also enables three EQ modes optimized for music, entertainment and calls (unfortunately, ANC and Transparency aren’t available when connected to a USB-C port). I didn’t notice a massive difference when cycling between the three modes — and would rather have access to noise control at all times — but the feature is there for folks who watch lots of movies or take lots of calls. It’s also worth noting that connecting via USB-C allows you to listen to high-resolution audio at up to 24 bits/48kHz, which you’ll find plenty of on top music streaming services like Apple Music and Tidal.

Rivals like the Sony XM5 and Bose QuietComfort 45 also support analog audio, but you’re limited to standard 3.5mm connections on the latter. If you want to go wired on your AirPods Max, you’ll have to buy a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter. The fact that the Beats Studio Pro offer so many connection options is worth commending, especially against more expensive competition.

All-day battery life and fast charging

The Studio Pro are rated for up to 40 hours of battery life with ANC and Transparency off and upward of 24 hours with noise control on, which largely lines up with my own testing. It took days of standard on-and-off use (mostly with ANC/Transparency on) before I even had to plug the Studio Pro in. After roughly eight hours of almost nonstop use with ANC on, I only drained the battery down to 87% from a full charge. And when I did need to quickly juice up before a walk, the Pro’s Fast Fuel charging (which promises up to four hours of playback from a 10-minute charge) worked as advertised.

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Those battery numbers trail the class-leading Sony XM5 (30 hours with ANC; 40 hours without) while beating out the AirPods Max (20 hours with ANC). So while they’re not quite the longest-lasting headphones we’ve tested, they’ll still give you days’ worth of playback — and charge up quickly once you finally drain the battery.

What we didn’t like about them

A few frustrating quirks

The Studio Pro have largely been a joy to use — until I have to take them off, that is. Beats’ headphones lack the automatic head detection found on rivals like the AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM5, meaning your music won’t automatically pause as soon as you take the cans off your head.

This was extremely frustrating on a few levels. The Pros would continue to play audio even when I folded them up and stowed them away, leading to unnecessary battery drainage and, in some cases, causing me to lose my place in a podcast I thought was paused. And because Beats’ headphones stay paired and active while off your head, I frequently had to manually unpair them anytime I wanted to binge some TikToks using my phone’s built-in speakers.

It’s a pretty notable annoyance, and a far cry from the seamless automatic pausing I’ve enjoyed on the AirPods Max. The Sony XM5’s wearing detection was hit or miss in my testing, but it’s at least there. Here’s hoping that a firmware update can iron this out, because it sours an otherwise great audio experience.

Bottom line

Whether you’re a die-hard Beats fan or you just want a versatile, great-sounding and stylish pair of headphones, the Beats Studio Pro deliver a lot for $350. Their blissfully suppressive active noise cancellation is some of the best we’ve tested, and their strong audio quality, reliable battery life and cushy ear cups make them a treat to use for long stretches.

Mike Andronico/CNN

Plus, with perks like wired audio over USB-C, a foldable, extra-portable design and tons of features for both iOS and Android users, the Beats Studio Pro do a few things that its competitors can’t. The latest Beats cans are an especially great AirPods Max alternative, as they’ll get you most of the key features of Apple’s high-end headphones (including Spatial Audio and seamless pairing) for upward of hundreds of dollars less — and they work better on Android.

The Studio Pro are held back a bit by some frustrating connectivity quirks, and the $400 Sony WH-10000XM5 remain our best over-ear headphones pick, thanks to their dynamic Adaptive Sound mode and better long-term comfort. But if you want to spend a little less — or just want to be seen rocking that classic “B” logo on your daily commute — the Studio Pro are the modern throwback you’re looking for.

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