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The formerly prominent, widely recorded conductor was sentenced Wednesday to nearly six years of probation for five counts of possession of child sex abuse material in Indianapolis.

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Apple's September 9 'Surprise and Shine' event has come and gone, and we've learned a lot about Apple's latest crop of devices. While we've got new AirPods and iPhones (including Apple's first foldable, the iPhone Duo), it's the Apple Watches that have caught my eye as TechRadar's resident fitness and wearables writer — specifically, the Apple Watch Ultra 4, the latest version of Apple's flagship watch series.

But how does it compare to the previous gen, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and is it worth upgrading? Read on for a full comparison of both watches, so you can make an informed decision.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Specifications

Component

Apple Watch Ultra 3

Apple Watch Ultra 4

Price

$799 / £749 / AU$1,399

$799 / £749 / AU$1,399

Dimensions

49 x 41 x 14mm

49 x 44 x 12mm

Weight

61.6g

63.1g

Case/bezel

Titanium

Titanium

Display

514 x 422 px LTPO3 always-on OLED Retina Display

514 x 422 px LTPO3 always-on OLED Retina Display

GPS

Yes, dual-band

Yes, dual-band

Battery life

42 hours

48 hours

Connection

Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, 5G, satellite

Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, 5G, satellite

Water resistant

Yes, WR100 (diveproof)

Yes, WR100 (diveproof)

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Price and availability

• Price is unchanged from last year
• $799 / £749 / AU$1,399
• Available from September 18

Here's an easy one to start with: the Apple Watch Ultra 4's price is unchanged from last year, at $799 / £749 / AU$1,399. It's available from the September 18, so if you were considering getting an Apple Watch Ultra 3 but were holding out, there's no reason not to wait a few days for the latest model.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: design

(Image credit: Apple)

Physically, little has changed in terms of looks, but there have been subtle tweaks. The titanium case is still there, slightly wider and slimmer than last year, and it lasts six hours longer than the Ultra 3 to make it to two days, or 18 hours with continuous GPS use.

The watch's heart rate accuracy is even better thanks to the new Health Sensing System. This redesign of Apple's LED optical heart rate sensor tech offers better skin contact thanks to an increased electrode surface area. Heart rate readings are now being taken up to every five seconds, with heart rate variability, an overnight measure of rest and recovery, being read up to every five minutes.

This makes Apple's heart rate sensor the most accurate of any wearable, according to Apple. It has apparently conducted tests against rivals using ECG chest straps, much like we do in our reviews.

I can attest that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is as accurate a wearable as it gets, so I'll be intrigued to test the new Ultra 4 against my trusty Polar H10.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Features

(Image credit: Apple)

• Finally, a Readiness Score
• New Audio Intelligence features
• Redesigned Health app

At last! Apple Watch gets a Readiness Score, a feature almost every other fitness wearable has had for years. Typically from Apple, it looks like the bee's knees, feeding into Vitals to generate a holistic overview of your night, and updating throughout the day, like Garmin's Body Battery function. A new Health Age feature also compares your current fitness level to those in your age group, much like Garmin's Fitness Age or Whoop's, er, Whoop Age.

It's unclear at the moment whether the Ultra 3 will get these features, or if it will be an Ultra 4 / Series 12 exclusive. But all the Apple Watch Ultra 3 features, including LTE and satellite connectivity, are available on the Ultra 4.

An incoming redesigned Health app on iPhone is Apple Intelligence-forward, offering personalized AI-powered insights, and what is clear is that this will also work with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and all Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones. This Health App will show you Readiness, Longevity, and allow you to measure your VO2 Max using a coached guided workout on your iPhone's camera, then update it according to your activity levels and metrics.

Audio Intelligence features are exclusive to the Ultra 4 and Series 12, and include Shazam on your wrist, Sound Recognition (your watch will let you know the doorbell's rung or a siren's going off, for example), and two more features which are sure to prove controversial.

Live Rewind has your watch listen to and instantly recall a conversation up to 15 seconds previously, by double-tapping the crown of your Apple Watch. Siri Recap listens throughout the day and uses Siri AI to process live audio files, serving you a summary of the day in the evening. There are numerous controls and privacy safeguards in place here, but there's no doubt they'll come across as creepy to many. You can read all about Audio Intelligence on Apple Watch here.

Earlier this year, many Apple products (but not iPhones, AirPods or Watches) were hit with a huge set of price hikes. And then, more recently, Apple unveiled its new Mac mini range, which also comes at a 50% higher starting price than just five months before.

This left me (and probably a lot of other people) fearing the worst about the prices of the new stuff coming at Apple's September 2026 event.

But as we watched new products being announced that were the same price, or actually better value, than their predecessors, I felt like I was watching Neo dodging RAM-ageddon bullets… even though the iPhone 18 Pro price rose (check out our full list of iPhone price hikes), it felt reasonable.

But then, just like Neo, we got clipped and dropped to the ground by the fact that Apple quietly increased the price sof all its older phones following the event. Here's the new pricing for those models:

The increased iPhone prices

Model

New starting price

Old starting price

iPhone 17

$899 / £899

$799 / £799

iPhone Air

$1,099 / £1,099

$999 / £999

iPhone 17e

$699 / £699

$599 / £599

iPhone 16

$799 / £799

$699 / £699

Let's run through how well we did in different areas in the US and UK prices (it may differ elsewhere, of course).

Apple's launch prices compared

New product

Launch price

Comparison model

Launch price

Apple Watch Series 12

$399 / £369

Apple Watch Series 11

$399 / £369

Apple Watch Ultra Series 4

$799 / £749

Apple Watch Ultra Series 3

$799 / £749

AirPods 5

$129 / £119

AirPods 4

$129 / £119

AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case

$149 / £139

AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation

$179 / $169

iPhone 18 Pro

$1,199 / £1,199

iPhone 17 Pro

$1,099 / £1,099

iPhone 18 Pro Max

$1,299 / £1,299

iPhone 17 Pro Max

$1,199 / £1,199

iPhone Duo

$1,999 / £1,999

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra

$2,099 / £1,899

Apple Watch

A nice easy win here — we got new features across both the new regular model and the new Ultra, and we got them for the same price as the previous model. That's pretty great given the levels of inflation we're dealing with.

The only potentially offputting thing is Apple's slightly new always-listening Siri Recap option, now — but not the price, mercifully.

AirPods 5

These were the big win on value, in my opinion. When reporting on the AirPods 5 rumors, we said that we really wanted to see Apple improve what you got for the money specifically, because its entry-level were behind the best budget earbuds from competitors.

Well, that's exactly what we got. The basic AirPods 5 now have active noise cancellation, and along with other improvements this should make them competitive again at the same price. And the mid-range AirPods 5 model get on-ear volume controls and a few other small quality-of-life upgrades, which makes them cheaper than last year's mid-range model. It's a win all around — and you can pre-order them today.

iPhone 18 Pro

This is where things get rockier — but both models have a relatively modest $100 price increase in the US, which is under 10%, and in the world of 2026, I'll take that.

Of course, they've also improved compared to the previous model, and from what Apple's saying the new variable aperture camera system and the much longer battery life provided by the (somehow also super-powerful) A20 Pro chip might be well worth the extra cash.

iPhone Duo

Look, do I think $1,999 is an appealing price for a phone? It's not what I'd choose to pay. I wasn't happy about the rumors of it being that high, but it was kind of inevitable. However, the iPhone Duo folding phone needs to be assessed in context — and that context is: the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra costs more in the US (in the UK, Samsung has the edge).

It only costs $100 more, I'll grant you, but a win is a win — and again, given the price rises elsewhere in Apple's range earlier this year, I think it was far from a given that its fancy folder was going to actually undercut the competition.

@techradar

♬ Candy - Lane 8 & Quentin Quivera It's not all roses

Will we be as lucky with future releases? Perhaps not. It's notable that these product categories are some of the few that didn't get price rises in the hikes earlier this year.

We're expecting the Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini to get new versions soon, for example, and these will probably arrive with the same price the current models do… which were just jacked up significantly. Same for the rumored new entry-level iPad.

And then there's the small matter of Apple having raised the prices of all its existing iPhone models. Unlike the iPhone 18 Pro, those increases don't come with any hardware or performance upgrades — they're just more expensive.

And I assume this means we're not getting a base iPhone 18 at all, if all these phones are sticking around with higher prices.

• MagNav uses Earth’s magnetic field to guide aircraft without GPS signals
• Q-CTRL uses quantum gravimetry to navigate ships without satellite signals
• Saab uses quantum timing to keep radar networks synchronized without GPS

Global positioning systems (GPS) have long served as the invisible backbone guiding ships, aircraft, and military operations across the planet.

That reliance now faces a genuine challenge, as adversaries increasingly jam or spoof satellite signals to disrupt navigation entirely.

Three organizations on three continents have each tested working alternatives within the span of a few short weeks.

A wave of independent breakthroughs

The combined progress of these teams suggests the technology is edging out of laboratories and into active field conditions.

The US Defense Innovation Unit, a Pentagon organization tasked with fielding emerging commercial technology for military use, confirmed a successful flight test of its magnetic navigation program, known as MagNav.

The route carried an Embraer 170 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean, running from Seattle's Puget Sound toward southern Alaska and back again.

After four hours and 23 minutes without satellite guidance, the system improved location accuracy by 89% compared to older backup navigation methods.

"This is a significant win for the department's quantum sensing priorities, showcasing that MagNav capabilities are no longer a distant research goal," said Kyle Norman, deputy director of DIU's Kill Web portfolio.

Separately, Q-CTRL, an Australian quantum computing firm, announced a maritime field trial in the Coral Sea; its quantum gravimeter kept location errors within one nautical mile across the entire mission.

That figure reportedly beat conventional satellite backup systems by more than ten times during the same test window.

"Q-CTRL's demonstration shows a credible path to accurate navigation without reliance on external satellite signals," said Steve Sklenka, a retired Lieutenant General with the U.S. Marine Corps.

The company’s founder Michael Biercuk added that the technology is ready now, calling it proof that quantum tools can already support active defense missions.

Radar networks join the shift

Saab UK also reported a milestone, working alongside Aquark Technologies and Britain's Royal Navy to test radar timing without satellite input.

Multiple Giraffe 1X radar units operating from separate locations kept a single, coherent air picture using independent quantum timing sources.

Engineers introduced deliberate timing errors to mimic jamming conditions, then confirmed the network recovered once synchronization returned.

"This trial is a great example of how collaboration can accelerate innovation," said Andy Fraser, Group Managing Director at Saab UK.

Jason Ralph, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Liverpool, noted that gravity sensing remains the only passive alternative technology that works globally and resists jamming or spoofing attempts entirely.

The trials arrive amid rising concern over deliberate satellite interference, with roughly 978,000 jamming events recorded worldwide during the first quarter of 2026 alone, most concentrated in the Middle East.

Taken together, these three trials suggest quantum navigation is edging closer to practical deployment rather than remaining a theoretical concept.

Whether it can fully replace GPS, rather than simply back it up during outages, still depends on further testing and cost considerations.

Apple has announced the iPhone Duo, its first-ever folding phone, calling it “the most transformational iPhone experience since the original.” Like every other tech fan in the world right now, I want one.

As detailed in our Apple Event 2026 recap, Apple has decked out its first foldable with a range of high-spec specs befitting the phone’s Duo branding and new ‘Intelligent Personal Hub’ concept.

It gets a 5.4-inch cover display, a 7.6-inch inner display, and an A20 Pro chipset. It also comes with a 48MP wide-angle camera, a 48MP ultra-wide camera, a 12MP selfie camera on the cover screen, and an under-display camera under the inner screen. Apple also claims the iPhone Duo lasts up to 24 hours on a single charge when both screens are used equally. Put simply, this thing is a beast.

I’ll say it right now — I want the iPhone Duo more than I’ve ever wanted a folding phone. I’ve used plenty of the best folding phones in my time as a tech journalist, penning TechRadar’s Honor Magic V5 review and Oppo Find N5 review, but the iPhone Duo’s combination of Apple finesse and futuristic form factor has put it squarely at the top of my shopping list — now all I need is a spare $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499.

(Image credit: Apple)

However, the iPhone Duo comes with some caveats that could upset long-time Apple fans. It lacks Face ID, a staple since 2017. It also loses the Action Button, which you'll find on all but a few iPhones released since the iPhone 15 Pro launched in 2023. And it misses out on the telephoto camera boasted by its sibling, the iPhone 18 Pro, and similar zoom lenses sported by competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

Even if you don’t use these features much, some Apple fans are bound to feel let down by the fact that the iPhone Duo misses out on key hardware found on cheaper models. But I’m not one of these people — here are five reasons why I still want the iPhone Duo more than any other folding phone.

Ecosystem and software

(Image credit: Apple)

It’s been said a million times, but I’ll say it once more — Apple’s ecosystem prowess is not to be underestimated. Despite a few wobbles with the launch of iOS 26 last year, the Apple ecosystem is still the cleanest, least ad-infested, and most seamless software environment on the consumer tech market.

Having a folding phone join the fray gives Apple the opportunity to merge the function of the iPhone and iPad in new ways, bringing together the company’s experience across mobile and tablet development. We saw this during the Duo's announcement — Apple has created a fluid transition between folded and open states with a seamless Liquid Glass animation; it's moved core controls to the right side of the screen for easier access; and it's optimized all of its own apps for the Duo's new form factor. And, of course, the Duo is still keyed in to AirDrop, AirPlay, and other Apple conveniences.

If Apple is sensible enough to equip the Duo with the iPad versions of productivity and creative apps like Pages and Final Cut Pro, the new device could be a genuine portable workstation like nothing Samsung or Google have ever released. Apple simply has access to better software than Android folding phones; it just has to leverage it.

@techradar

♬ Candy - Lane 8 & Quentin Quivera The iPad legacy

(Image credit: Apple)

On the subject of iPads, Apple has the best track record of any small tablet maker, bar none, thanks to the quality of the iPad mini, so the iPhone Duo already has a model of success to follow. Our list of the best tablets highlights the iPad mini as the best compact tablet, and has done so for years.

We saw the iPhone Duo used in split-screen mode during the keynote, with Apple showing off optimized apps from Netflix, Slack, and Detail, and telling us all about the performance of the A20 Pro mobile chipset. Considering the MacBook Neo, a full-on laptop, runs on an A18 chipset from two generations back, I’m pretty confident that the iPhone Duo will be as powerful as any true tablet bar the M-series iPads.

I’ve used and reviewed tablets from other manufacturers, and while I’ve been impressed on occasion, these devices typically come nowhere close to the iPad’s smooth performance and software optimization. And other folding phones have to contend with some jank as phone makers try to make the Android and off-the-shelf chipsets play ball with their specific screen size, resolution, and processing requirements.

Apple's display pedigree

(Image credit: Apple)

What good is software without decent hardware to experience it on?

The iPhone Duo comes with two screens that share the same 10:14 aspect ratio, offering more consistency than taller foldables, with a nano-textured upper layer laser-lithographed to create a lens for each pixel. Apple also claims that the screen “doesn’t degrade over time” due to a system of layered polymers that slide over one another as the screen moves.

As folding phone screens are known to peel and wear down, I won't pass judgment on the folding inner screen until I see it in person, but the excellence of Apple's previous iPhone and iPad displays gives me faith (at least when it comes to quality).

Build qualityAppleAppleAppleApple

Apple spent plenty of time in the keynote talking about iPhone Duo’s durability. The phone is made of glass, ceramic inserts, and grade 5 titanium, and achieves the IP68 dust and water resistance that Samsung and Google only recently achieved with their foldable devices. Also, its larger vapor chamber means it offers 35% better sustained performance than iPhone 18 Pro, by Apple’s own metrics.

In fairness, Samsung and Google build folding phones exceptionally well too — but even at the sky-high prices foldables command, this isn’t a given. I’ve used some folding phones that wobble around when partially opened, don’t stay fully shut, or show signs of screen peeling after just a few weeks of use. Apple will still have to earn my trust with the iPhone Duo, but the keynote suggests its engineering teams are on top form.

The missing features aren't *that* important

The iPhone Duo uses Touch ID, not Face ID (Image credit: Apple)

Comment section debaters, get ready. Part of the reason I still want the iPhone Duo is that its missing features just don’t matter that much — at least to me.

While the iPhone Duo does lose Face ID, I’ve always preferred in-button fingerprint scanners to any other kind of biometric security — they’re faster, easier to use, and won’t get blocked by a scarf or sunglasses. I love the scanner on my Oppo Find N6, for example.

I think I’d miss the Action Button and telephoto camera, but these don’t preclude the iPhone Duo’s software potential. With the iPhone Duo’s wide unfolded form factor, I can see why Apple ditched the button, as it may not be useful when the phone is unfolded.

And TechRadar Phones Editor Axel Metz made peace with the iPhone Air’s single camera, so I’m sure the iPhone Duo’s dual camera system would be perfectly usable, even without the reach of the zoom lenses found on competing foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

So, for me, Apple's first foldable iPhone was worth the wait — at least on paper. I can't wait to get my hands on one and put it through its paces.

The foldable iPhone was the star of today’s show, but we also saw big news for AirPods and the Apple Watch.

Apple’s first foldable phone is also its first with pen support.

Compare 10 smartphones with batteries from 5,088mAh to 10,000mAh, plus gaming-test results that show why capacity alone cannot predict endurance.

The post Think 5,000mAh Is Big? These 10 Smartphones Go Much Higher appeared first on TechRepublic.

The feature will be available with iOS 27, but will be limited to specific cellular carriers for now.

Do the math to make sure the upgrade makes sense.

The new iPhone 18 Pro gets a photo-authentication feature to show that a photo hasn’t been altered with AI.

New Apple CEO John Ternus announces the iPhone Duo, which folds like a passport and is the most radical iPhone design update in nearly 20 years.

(Image credit: Benjamin Fanjoy)

It’s like you’re opening a small book, not flipping a Star Trek communicator open.

A faster chip, new health sensors, deeper recovery insights and a new AI Audio feature that helps you remember conversations. Here’s what’s new for the Apple Watch.

Your Apple Watch can take notes and rewind time from previous conversations, if you let it.

The update to Apple’s endurance wearable is now official — and costs the same as last year’s Ultra 3.

Apple is raising prices for the two smartphones by $100 each.

Get more updates on your most important apps and notifications, from directions to music details and more.

The phone has a 7.6-inch inside display and a 5.4-inch cover display. It’ll be available in October.

Apple’s Health app has gotten several new features to help you keep track of your health and wellness.