- New Method 540 ANC headphones feature improved housing and built-in AI
- Skull AI has a two-week free trial; after that, it will cost $4.99 per month
- Skullcandy Method 540 ANC costs $149.99 (around £110 or AU$224)
Skullcandy is taking its Skull AI assistant out of beta and bringing it to your skull. And it’s coming exclusively to the newly released Method 540 ANC headphones, which are an upgrade to the impressive Skullcandy Method 360 ANC.
But there’s a problem: the AI assistant is only free for fifteen days. After that, you’ll pay $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
Skull AI uses the Bragi AI system, which in turn is powered by OpenAI. When you activate the wizard, it processes the request, formats it for ChatGPT, and sends it to OpenAI. Then it processes the answer and reads it out loud in your ears. And of course you can control your headphones too. It’s just a matter of saying “OK Skully” and telling the AI what you want it to help you with.
I suspect the main rival here will be the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, which Google Gemini has, and while Gemini is also a subscription service, it actually offers a free tier that includes Gemini Live.
Skullcandy Method 540 ANC: Key Features and Pricing
As mentioned above, the Method 540 ANC are essentially the Method 360 headphones, which we really liked due to their Bose sound tuning for less than a Bose product. They’ve been given an AI boost and come with a redesigned version of the clip-anywhere case that’s significantly smaller and more streamlined – good call, Skullcandy. And at the moment, the Method 540 headphones are the only Skullcandy product that includes Skull AI.
The Method 540 features 4-microphone adjustable noise cancellation, 40 hours of battery life (32 with ANC on), three eartip sizes, and customization via the Skull-iQ app. Bluetooth is 5.3 with Google Fast Pair and multipoint pairing, and the frequency response of the headphones is 20Hz to 20kHz. The buds weigh 11 g each.
The Skullcandy Method 540 ANC is now available in the US for $149.99, but the Method 360 is currently $89.99. That means there’s a really big price difference if you want to go the AI route: At $199.98 for the Method 540 ANC with one year of AI, that’s more than double what you’d pay for the Method 360 headphones without AI.
Skull AI will be coming out of beta this week (week starting January 5, 2026) and you can find more information on the Skullcandy Skull AI page.
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