The Beats meme is outdated and tired. Their newest models with the Apple wireless chips in them are actually quite good - they balance a lot of qualities consumers care about well. The sound is great (just check the reviews), and the wireless connectivity is the best in the market. They also integrate really well with the Apple ecosystem due to the A1 chip. They also look better than 99% of headphones out there and that matters to people.

If aesthetics, wireless performance, portability or integration aren’t import to you and the only thing you care about is raw sound quality, that’s fine. Beats probably won’t fit your requirements. But the vast majority of people want something that balances a lot of different qualities well and Beats does that today (maybe not so well in the past).

As for the price, what good active noise canceling headphone on the market isn’t at least $350?

FYI: I have the Sony WH1000XM2. I paid $400 for them. I tested all ANC headphones on the entire market before settling on the Sonys. Beats were not the worst by any means. They gripped my big head too tight and hurt so I couldn’t consider them. Other than that, the A1 chip was amazing for connectivity and the sound curve was great for hip hop. They were also much more pleasing aesthetically and more portable than the competition. Ultimately comfort was the #1 thing I was looking for and they didn’t check that box.