The Beats Studio 3 headphones are no doubt an improvement over the long-existing wired earphones. The enriching auditory experience they provide through top features is unparalleled by many other listening devices. If you like to seamlessly blend external audio with your music, you may be wondering whether Beats Studio 3 offers transparency mode.

Currently, Beats Studio 3 does not feature transparency mode, a feature that allows you to hear external noise in conjunction with the audio playing through the headphones. However, there are ways to mimic transparency mode to allow for an enriching listening experience.

Below, we will discuss how you can still be aware of the sounds around you while using your Beats Studio 3 headphones. Keep reading to learn more!

How Beats Studio 3 and Transparency Mode Work

Beats Studio 3 are wireless headphones made by Apple. They offer many advantageous features that make them very different from what most earphone lovers are used to.

This is largely because of their popular noise cancellation feature, in which tiny microphones inside the device remove sounds surrounding the headset from what you are listening to. While most people are familiar with the concept of noise cancellation, you may be wondering what exactly the differences between this feature and transparency mode include.

Generally, a set of headphones are said to be in transparency mode when they essentially do the opposite of what the noise cancellation feature does. While noise cancellation shuts out external noise, transparency mode allows you to hear these sounds in conjunction with whatever audio you’re listening to.

Although Beats Studio 3 headphones do not offer a dedicated transparency mode, there are ways to mimic this exclusive feature. Below, we’ll discuss a few methods of doing so.

How to Mimic Transparency Mode on Beats Studio 3

There are quite a few Beats headphone models that do offer transparency mode. These include:

  • Beats Fit ProBeats Solo ProBeats Studio Buds

Unfortunately, however, Beats Studio 3 does not have a dedicated transparency mode feature. But luckily, there are several steps you can take as a workaround. The most popular is simply turning Beats’ noise cancellation feature off. While external sounds will not play through your Beats microphone in conjunction with audio from the device, you will still be able to hear some of the noise around you.

How to Turn Noise Cancellation Off

No matter what device you’re using, it’s relatively simple to turn your Beats Studio 3’s noise cancellation feature off. Follow the steps below to do so:

  • Unlock the device you’re using your Beats Studio 3 headphones with, then open the Beats app.Once you’re on the app, select your Beats Studio 3 headphones.Find and tap the noise cancellation button. Change it to “Off” to disable active noise cancellation.

With this feature disabled, your Beats Studio 3s will behave like traditional wired headphones. You’ll be able to hear both the sound that’s playing from your device, as well as any external noise that’s surrounding you. Although this is not the exact same thing as transparency mode, it mimics the feature well enough.

When you’re ready to turn noise cancellation back on, just return to your Beats app and change the noise cancellation feature button back to “On.”

Alternatives to Disabling Noise Cancellation

Although turning off noise cancellation is the easiest way to mimic transparency mode on Beats Studio 3, some people may be looking for an alternative method. It’s tricky to find another option, as true transparency mode is not available and there are very few ways to mimic it. What some people have found works best is simply pausing the song they’re playing while they listen to what’s going on in the world around them.

Holding down the Beats button on your headphones will temporarily pause your music. While the audio is paused, active noise cancellation (ANC) will be temporarily disabled.

ANC will shut out outside noise whenever it’s activated, regardless of the type of audio you’re playing through your headphones. However, when you use the Beats button to pause your music, the feature will deactivate itself momentarily. When you release the button and the music resumes, ANC will automatically reactivate.

Your ANC will also turn off automatically if a call comes through on your device. Any audio will be paused, and you will become aware of the surrounding noise.

Final Thoughts

While transparency mode is an option on many versions of the Beats earbuds, Beats Studio 3 is not one of them. The closest you can get to true transparency mode is simply deactivating your active noise cancellation feature. With this feature disabled, you shouldn’t have a problem hearing voices, traffic sounds, or other important signals while you’re listening to music. As limited as this workaround may seem, you can still use it to make the most of your Beats Studio 3 device.