Skullcandy Unveils Method 360 ANC Earbuds Tuned By Bose At A Killer Price
Consumer audio maker Skullcandy has dropped the $130 Method 360 ANC earphone (available at a discount at launch, more on that in a moment). It's a higher-end version of the $60 Dime Evo developed in collaboration with an unlikely partner: Bose. The latter contributed to the tuning (via its Sound by Bose program) and eartip design, while the rest is pure Skullcandy, meaning loads of features for a competitive price and unique colorways and designs that very few competitors do (let alone are good at).
Most modern Skullcandy headphones and earphones are known for their fun designs, consumer friendly sound (i.e. bass- and treble-centric push), user-customizable options, plus new feature drops through the Skull-iQ app, and pricing that's truly friendly to its 14-24 year old target market. From time to time, the company pops out some iconic models, such as the Crusher Evo and Dime series. Could the new Method 360 ANC be added to this group?
As it is, the Method 360's headlining feature is that the sound is tuned by Bose. No details have been shared on how much Bose was paid for the Sound by Bose license and tuning services, but if you're a fan of Bose's house sound, then you might like Skullcandy's new buds. So far the only other product that leverages Sound by Bose is Motorola's Moto Buds+. Only time will tell if this collaboration paid off. (Fun fact: Speaking of collaboration, skating legend Tony Hawk is Skullcandy's brand ambassador, while the Method 360 moniker is straight out of the skateboarding trick encyclopedia.)
Like the Dime Evo, the Method 360 ANC earbuds are housed in a storage tube with a convenient O-ring to stick this on a backpack or belt loop. The tube holds an additional 23 hours of charge on top of the claimed nine hours, both impressively with ANC activated. It doesn't look like Bose had any play in noise cancellation development, which is a shame. We didn't think Skullcandy's audio tuning needed help to begin with, but could have definitely benefited from Bose's pretty legendary ANC instead.
Other points to highlight are Bluetooth 5.3, support for multi-point pairing, Google Fast Pair, sidetone during phone calls, IPX4 rating, and even auto pause-play. There are three sets of eartips and fins (again developed with the help of Bose) included in the box.
The Skullcandy Method 360 is available now for a reduced launch price of $99.99 in five colors (Plasma, Leopard, Bone, Primer, and Black). The regular MSRP is $130.
