Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones Come With Active Noise Cancellation, Apple's W1 Chip

Beats has announced the Studio3 Wireless, the company’s latest iteration of its high-end Bluetooth wireless headphones. The Beats Studio3 features Apple’s W1 chip making it easy to connect to iOS devices and MacOS computers.

The last time that Beats updated its Studio Wireless line was in 2013. The Beats Studio3 doesn’t really offer much of a significant change in terms of design because it still carries over the same overall look. The Studio3 is available in six colors, with two of the color options — shadow gray and porcelain rose — being “limited edition” variants.

The gold and silver accents on the Studio3 headphones give it that premium look in an already familiar design. There are still on-board controls for skipping songs, adjusting volume and activating Siri, and a built-in microphone for calls and voice commands, according to Engadget. The biggest change in the Studio3 is really what’s on the inside.

The Beats Studio3 come with Pure Adaptive Noise Cancellation (Pure ANC). The headphones use algorithms to determine the wearer’s environment and adjust how much ambient noise can be heard. Beats says that Pure ANC can also evaluate the fit and adjusts for leakage caused by hair, glasses, different ear shapes and movement of the wearer’s head. Beats also says that the Pure ANC technology is able to do real-time audio calibration up to 50,000 a second.

“Beats Studio3 delivers with a level of sophistication in both technology and audio fidelity beyond anything we’ve ever brought to market,” Beats by Dr. Dre President Luke Wood said. “Since our brand’s inception, we’ve strived to fix the degradation of sound heightened by the commodification of consumer electronics. Now with the right vision, team and resources, we see technology enabling the perfect sound experience in Studio3.”

That kind of noise cancelling tech might significantly affect battery life on other wireless headphones, but Beats says that it doesn’t on the Studio3. With the Pure ANC on, the Studio3 will still be able to achieve 22 hours of battery life. When turned off, the Beats headphones could reach a battery life of up to 40 hours of continuous audio playback.

When users run out of juice, the Beats Studio3 can easily be charged via a microUSB. The new headphones also support Fast Fuel charging, which Beats claims can give users three hours of audio playback just after 10 minutes of charging. That should be enough for most users, but premium wireless headphones in 2017 should really come with a USB Type-C port or Apple’s Lightning port, as pointed out by The Verge.

The Beats Studio3 is equipped with the tech giant’s W1 chip, which was first introduced last year for the Apple AirPods. The W1 chip makes it easy for users to connect the Studio3 to iOS devices and Macs, while also having the ability to easily switch between devices. Beats says that the W1 chip makes it possible for the Studio3 to achieve the Pure ANC tech with the long battery life.

The Beats Studio3 is available now from Apple’s website for $349.