Ahead of the launch of its new $100 Method 360 ANC earbuds in NewYork City, Skullcandy hyped the new buds as “the boldest audio product of 2025, featuring a partnership you didn’t see coming.” Whether or not the Method 360 ANC are the boldest audio product of the year is debatable, but I was certainly surprised to learn that Skullcandy had joined forces with Bose to create what’s essentially the budget version of Bose’s $299 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.
Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025
I’ve only been using the Method 360 ANC for a day — they’re available now in 5 color options — but I’ve been mostly been impressed with the new buds, which sound better than most of the earbuds in this price class. From a design standpoint, they share many of the traits of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, with a similar shape and stabilizing “fit” fins, but they’re lighter and lack the more premium finish and overall feel of those pricey buds. That said, they offer a similar fit — and by that I mean they’re quite comfortable and stay in your ears very securely once you get the buds set up with right combo of ear tips and fins (3 sizes of each are included).
The buds come in 5 color options.
Skullcandy
Method 360 ANC’s jumbo case has plusses and minuses
The one glaring difference between the Method 360 ANC and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, as well as the step-down Quiet Comfort Earbuds ($179), is the Method 360 ANC’s charging case. It’s big — perhaps too big for some people — and it’s a little awkward to get the buds in the case. Yes, the case still fits in a pocket or can be clipped onto a backpack or your jacket. But compared to the charging cases of most true-wireless earbuds, it’s pretty jumbo. It also has no wireless charging.
On the plus side, the case does have a distinct Skullycandy-ish vibe and I like how it slides open/shuts and how the o-ring clip is integrated into the case. It also houses an ample-sized battery that stores an extra 23 hours of battery life when the case is fully charged. The buds are rated for 9 hours of battery life with noise canceling on or 32 hours total (with the juice in the case) and 11 hours with ANC off or 40 hours total. I haven’t fully tested the buds yet to confirm those numbers, but if accurate, they’re good.
The case has a slot for each bud on opposite sides of the case. There’s no wireless charging.
David Carnoy/CNET
Sound by Bose
Skullcandy describes the buds as having “Sound by Bose,” which involves both hardware (a chipset and presumably drivers) and acoustic digital tuning. I don’t know exactly what components the buds are using, but they sound pretty similar to Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds and have similar specs, including 4-mic hybrid active noise canceling.
Like the QC Earbuds, they’re equipped with ear-detection sensors that pause your music when you take the buds out of your ears and resume playback when you put the buds back in your ears. I also thought the touch controls were well-implemented. They’re customizable via the Skullcandy-iQ app for iOS and Android, where you can also play around with EQ settings to tweak the sound profile.
Testing the buds in the streets of New York.
David Carnoy/CNET
Bose’s earbuds and headphones are designed to work well with a variety of music and offer generally smooth, punchy sound that’s very pleasant for listening. While some premium buds offer a little more detail and clarity, like Bose’s QC Earbuds, the bass on these Skullcandy buds has good kick to it without sounding boomy.
I don’t think the Method 360 ANC buds sound quite as good as the QC Ultras, which have a tad more depth and extension (they offer slightly richer, more detailed sound), but the contest was a lot closer than I thought it would be. It’s also worth mentioning that the Method 360 ANC buds play pretty loud and sound better than any Skullcandy earbuds I’ve tested over the years. I still have to listen to them a little longer and compare them to some other earbuds in this price range before delivering a final verdict, but as far as sound goes, there really isn’t much to complain about for the price.
Skullcandy’s best noise canceling in a pair of earbuds
Noise canceling also seems pretty good, and you can adjust its “intensity” in the app along with the level of ambient sound you let into the buds when you’re in the “stay-aware” mode. While the noise cancelling isn’t part of the Sound By Bose program, a PR rep told me that it was validated by Bose as meeting their standards. As with the sound quality, it isn’t quite up to the level of what you get with the QC Ultra Earbuds or even the QC Earbuds, but it’s respectable and more effective than the middling ANC on earlier Skullcandy noise-canceling earbuds I’ve tried.
I found the voice-calling performance to be something of mixed bag. In my tests in the noisy streets of New York, one caller said they could here me clearly with little background noise while two other callers said my voice warbled and cut in and out (I was hard to hear). I still have some testing to do in this area, but there are some question marks about call quality — at least when it comes to what callers are hearing (I had no issues on my end hearing callers).
The buds in plasma red.
Skullcandy
An excellent value for the moment
I’ll have my full review of the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds in the coming days. But aside from a few caveats, it’s safe to say these buds appear to be a very good value. Note that Skullcandy refers to their $100 price tag as an “introductory price,” and that it could change in time as the situation with tariffs remains fluid. But a Skullcandy rep informed me that the earbuds went into production in January, so the company was able to get plenty of units to the U.S. before the tariffs went into effect. While there are currently exemptions in place for smartphones, laptops and some other electronics, there are no tariff carve outs for headphones and earbuds.
Skullcandy Method 360 ANC key specs
Sound By Bose technologyBattery Life: Up to 40 hours ANC off (11 in buds, 29 in case); up to 32 hours with ANC on (9 in buds, 23 in case)Noise-isolating, ergonomic fit: 3 different sized pairs of fit fins and three sets of ear gels, leveraging licensed technology from BoseAdjustable 4-Mic hybrid active noise canceling with customizable Stay-Aware modeLow latency audioWear detection sensorsIPX4 sweat and water resistant (splash-proof)Skull-iQ App compatible: Choose one of 3 preset EQ settings or customize your own, reconfigure the button functions, adjust your Stay-Aware or ANC modes and moreRapid charge: 10-minute charge provides 2 hours of playtime Clear Voice smart mic helps isolate your voice and reduce background noise during callsSpotify Tap compatibleGoogle Fast Pair Multipoint Bluetooth Pairing: Pair two devices simultaneously for easy switchingVoice sidetone for calls (hear you voice in the earbuds during calls)Bluetooth 5.3 with LE AudioFive color options: Black, bone, primer, plasma and leopardPrice: $100
