Pawfectly Clean Cymru is run by husband and wife time Mike and Josienne Hoover
A South Wales sel- service dog cleaning station venture is planning a major expansion.
Barry-based husband and wife team Josienne and Mike Hoover launched Pawfectly Clean Cymru after spotting a gap between washing a muddy dog at home and booking an appointment with a professional groomer.
The business currently operates stations at Caerphilly Mountain, Pontcanna Fields in Cardiff and Clydach Vale Lakes. It has a number of potential new locations in the pipeline, including sites in Barry and Newport. They are aiming to have 10 stations across Wales within the next year.
Pawfectly Clean Cymru has recorded more than 1,000 washes since its first station opened and is projecting turnover of more than £100,000 this year.
The couple initially funded their first installation themselves before securing a Start Up Loan through the British Business Bank, which helped fund the expansion into their second and third locations.
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Without prior trading history for Pawfectly Clean Cymru, they said the funding provided a crucial opportunity to grow the business at a stage when securing finance through traditional lenders could have been more difficult.
Josienne and Mike Hoover of Pawfectly Clean Cymru.
Starting the business has been a labour of love alongside the couple holding down full-time jobs. Josienne works in educational safeguarding with Mike having a background is in finance and sustainability-focused investment
Between them, they have four children, three cats and three dogs – including Caesar, a street dog Michael rescued while living in Jordan.
Josienne said:“We loved the idea and knew we would use it ourselves, so we thought other dog owners would to,“There’s that moment after a walk when you’ve got a soaking wet, muddy dog and you know what’s waiting for you when you get home. We wanted to make that part of dog ownership easier.
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“We’ve both put a huge amount of time into getting the business off the ground alongside our jobs, but seeing people use the stations and hearing how much they love them makes it all worthwhile.”
On funding from the British Business Bank, the economic development bank of the UK Government, Mike, said: “The team listened to what we wanted to achieve and took a personal approach to understanding the business.
“The funding meant we could go from having one site to building a network. Without it, we simply wouldn’t have been able to grow the business at the pace we have.”
Jessica Phillips-Harris, director for Wales at the British Business Bank, said: “Pawfectly Clean Cymru shows how a simple idea, based on solving a problem that many people experience every day, can develop into a growing business with the right support.
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“Josienne and Michael have shown real ambition in taking their idea from a single site to three locations in just six months, while building strong relationships with the communities and businesses around them.
“Through the Start Up Loans programme, we’re proud to support entrepreneurs across Wales as they turn their ideas into businesses that can grow, create opportunities and contribute to their local economies.”
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is set to move closer to its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) gave the green light for the exchange’s public issue.
Ahead of the mega IPO, investors in NSE’s unlisted shares have seen significantly higher gains than those who invested in the benchmark Nifty 50 over the same period.
A comparison between September 2021 and September 2026 shows that NSE’s unlisted shares have gained over 170%, while the Nifty 50 has risen 35%.
Here’s how Nifty 50 performed
The Nifty 50, which tracks the performance of 50 blue-chip listed stocks on the NSE, stood at 17,353.50 on September 8, 2021. The index was last quoted at 23,431.50 on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. This represents a gain of around 35% over the period. However, the index has declined 10.32% in 2026, based on its level of 26,129.60 on December 31, 2025, and its latest level of 23,431.50.
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The benchmark has struggled to reclaim the 24,000 level. According to Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Investments, the Nifty’s move below the rising trendline that had supported the index since April raises the risk of a deeper correction towards 23,260. ALSO READ:Nifty could fall to 23,260 if it fails to reclaim 24,215: Anand JamesAt the same time, Elara Securities remains bullish on the Nifty despite the index’s prolonged stagnation. Its Managing Director and CEO Harendra Kumar said the 30,000 target is achievable over the next 15 months and expects 15%-20% market returns as the rupee stabilises, foreign investor flows turn positive and earnings hold up.
In comparison, investors who held NSE’s unlisted shares have seen much higher gains over the same period. The unlisted shares of NSE were quoted at around ₹740 apiece on September 8, 2021. At current levels of around ₹2,000, the shares have gained 170.27%.
This means NSE’s unlisted shares have delivered significantly higher returns than the Nifty 50 over the five-year period.
At current levels, an investment in NSE’s unlisted shares has more than doubled since September 2021, while the Nifty 50 has gained 35% over the same period.
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Manan Doshi, co-founder of Unlisted Arena, said NSE’s unlisted shares have been a long-term outperformer and a wealth-creation opportunity, delivering multi-fold returns over the years.
“Investors who have maintained a long-term perspective have seen substantial value creation from NSE’s unlisted shares.”
That said, while the long-term gains have been significantly higher, NSE’s unlisted shares have remained largely stable over the past year.
According to data from Unlisted Arena, NSE’s unlisted share price was around ₹2,045 last year, compared with ₹2,000 currently, representing a decline of around 2%.
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Doshi attributed the range-bound performance of NSE’s unlisted shares to subdued broader market conditions and the overhang arising from expectations of an IPO, which have weighed on near-term performance.
Disclaimer: This article has been written by Kumar Gaurav, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Gaurav and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment.
Macy’s, Inc. (M) Q2 2026 Earnings Call September 10, 2026 8:00 AM EDT
Company Participants
Caitlin Howe Antony Spring – CEO & Chairman Thomas Edwards – COO & CFO
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Conference Call Participants
Blake Anderson – Jefferies LLC, Research Division Alexandra Straton – Morgan Stanley, Research Division Matthew Boss – JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division Brooke Roach – Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division Oliver Chen – TD Cowen, Research Division Michael Binetti – Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division Dana Telsey – Telsey Advisory Group LLC Paul Lejuez – Citigroup Inc., Research Division Ryan Bulger – Gordon Haskett Research Advisors Robert Drbul – BTIG, LLC, Research Division Simeon Siegel – Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division
Presentation
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Operator
Greetings, and welcome to the Macy’s, Inc. Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this call is being recorded.
It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Caitlin Howe, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you. Please go ahead.
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Caitlin Howe
Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. With me on the call today are Tony Spring, our Chairman and CEO; and Tom Edwards, our COO and CFO. Along with our second quarter 2026 press release, a Form 8-K has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a presentation has been posted on the Investors section of our website, macysinc.com, and is being displayed live during today’s webcast. Unless otherwise noted, the comparisons we provide will be versus 2025. All references to our prior expectations, outlook or guidance refer to information provided on our June 3, 2026 earnings call.
On today’s call, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures can be found in our earnings presentation and SEC filings available on the Investor Relations section of our website. All references to comp sales throughout today’s prepared
As the country sweltered through one of the many heatwaves of a baking summer in late June, towering thunderclouds were gathering over the south of England and across much of northern Europe. It was a Saturday, and with the holiday season getting under way, thousands of passengers were heading to London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports to catch flights abroad. It was always going to be a very busy day.
What followed, however, was chaos for travellers. As air traffic controllers struggled to route aircraft around the storms, airspace became heavily congested and many planes due to fly were simply forced to wait on the ground. In the end, some 900 flights to and from both airports were delayed, some by up to 11 hours. Dozens more were cancelled. At airports across Europe, passengers expecting to fly into London also faced long waits and uncertainty.
The weather in the UK may now have cooled, and passengers may soon forget their experiences. But some within the industry believe what happened in June should be seen as a warning.
The timing in this case was clearly unlucky. But there are concerns that such incidents are only going to become more common as the effects of climate change mount up around the world and weather systems are likely to become increasingly unstable, making disruption more likely and adding to costs for airlines, airports and travellers.
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Tim Atkinson, an airline risk consultant and former pilot, says the very crowded skies over the UK and northern Europe mean the region is particularly exposed.
He thinks there is a real risk, for example, that all of London’s airports could be affected by storms at the same time, potentially with major consequences in the air and on the ground.
“What we’re seeing now is very rapid climate change,” he says.
“We’re going from the kind of weather activity which takes out an airport, and which the system kind of copes with… to a situation where, with very little predictability, it would be possible to lose all of the London airports from real-time operation quite swiftly and with little notice”.
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Such a scenario, he thinks, would make the disruption for passengers caused by the incident in June seem relatively minor – and could even put lives at risk. But how likely is it?
BOSTON — Nestle SA has “more to be done” in its North America business after a disappointing second quarter, said Anna Manz, chief financial officer.
In a Sept. 8 presentation at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference in Boston, Manz said that while the consumer environment in North America has been weak, it was not the driver of the company’s poor performance in the region. Instead, she pointed to two key factors.
First, weak category growth in frozen food.
“There, the category as a whole is in slight decline,” Manz said. “It plays to the more challenged area of the consumer. Equally, there are big pockets in that category that are growing much faster. And the sorts of trends that — where we’re seeing that faster growth is around world cuisine, around high fiber, high protein, around actually the very small pack sizes or the single pack sizes and then the big family value packs.
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“So it’s about making sure that we’re playing in the right places in the category to really take advantage of the growth that is there.
“We are doing a better job of that. Our performance is improving. There is more to do to be consistently growing.”
The second area of concern involves the company’s Gerber brand and creamers.
In the case of Gerber, Manz said it “is a journey to turn that around.”
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She said Nestle will have a better idea of how Gerber is doing once first-quarter shelf resets take effect. The company’s move to add new formats and flavors to reach new demographics is expected to help the brand regain shelf space once annual shelf resets take place.
Creamers also has been a trouble spot, with Manz acknowledging that “that one annoys me.”
“It annoys me because some of our issue in the quarter was production, and that really isn’t acceptable,” she said. “So we’ve made the interventions there, really good momentum on the fast-growing part of the category. A bit more to do on Coffee Mate, but good progress.”
After losing some of its luster beginning in March, Royal Gold (RGLD) has dug its way back to a spot on the Investor’s Business Daily Breakout Stocks Index. The stock stands poised to finish polishing a new base and climb into buy range. As demand for artificial intelligence data centers drives demand for copper, gold and silver, Wall Street forecasts…
CHICAGO — Protein2o, a manufacturer of fruit-flavored, clear protein water formulated with whey protein isolate, has named Mark Rappaport as chief executive officer. Rappaport succeeds Chris Pruneda.
Rappaport brings more than two decades of experience in the beverage and consumer brands space, the company said.
Most recently, he was global chief commercial officer at Congo Brands and previously was in leadership positions at Red Bull.
In addition to a new leader, Protein2o has received a growth investment.
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Mark Rappaport, chief executive officer of Protein 2o
| Photo: Mark Rappaport
The investment, which was not disclosed, will be used to support the company’s next phase of growth for brand building, retail development, organizational capabilities and new innovations.
“Mark brings a rare combination of brand building and operating experience, along with an instinctive understanding of where consumers are going next,” said Chris Running, chairman of the board of Protein2o. “He has a proven track record of building brands, developing high-performing teams and delivering exceptional results.
“Just as importantly, Mark is known throughout the industry as a leader of great character who builds strong, lasting relationships with customers, partners and people. We believe he is uniquely suited to lead Protein2o through this next chapter and realize the enormous opportunity ahead.”
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Pruneda became the company’s CEO in April 2025. Previously, he was CEO and co-founder of Matador Energy and earlier was chief commercial officer at Koia.
The inaugural International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir concluded with calls for more local participation. Organizers and attendees emphasized the need for training programs and infrastructure development. The festival screened over 130 films and featured master classes and celebrity appearances. Government officials acknowledged the success while planning future initiatives for filmmaking in the region. The aim is to foster a vibrant film culture and discover local talent.
Central banks must monitor energy price impacts and potential second-round inflation effects. Global regulatory coordination is crucial for advanced AI technology challenges. Stablecoins require careful regulation to mitigate negative economic spillovers. Economies can build inventories, diversify, and develop technology for resilience. The BIS supports tokenization within traditional banking systems for stability.
Advent International and Temasek Holdings are reportedly in talks to acquire Fairfax Financial’s stake. Fairfax is looking to exit IIFL Finance as part of its IDBI Bank acquisition plan. This stake sale will help Fairfax comply with regulations and fund the IDBI Bank buyout. Fairfax currently holds a significant stake in IIFL Finance, which is valued at approximately ₹3,500 crore.
A robust economic framework is evident in fifty districts that drive India’s unincorporated enterprise GVA and businesses. Impressively, 280 districts surpass the national average for GVA per worker, indicating heightened productivity. Notably, women dominate ownership in over 25 districts, particularly in Telangana, and comprise a vital segment of the workforce, underscoring the critical contributions of both the sector and female entrepreneurs.
Indian Railways will procure new energy-efficient locomotives for passenger trains. These powerful engines will operate in a push-pull format, enabling smoother and faster journeys. The modern locomotives will also eliminate the need for separate power generator cars. This upgrade will bring more comfortable travel to non-Vande Bharat trains.
Organised apparel retailers anticipate revenue growth slowing to twelve to thirteen percent this fiscal year. Profitability faces pressure as costs rise and competition limits price increases. Value fashion is a key growth driver, increasing its market share significantly. Retailers are expanding into smaller cities and investing in omnichannel capabilities. The festive season remains critical for annual apparel sales performance.
Port City Colombo is attracting technology companies from India seeking to diversify risks. This special economic zone offers a lower cost of doing business compared to Singapore. Indian firms can leverage Port City Colombo for access to the RCEP trading bloc. The US dollar and Indian rupee are designated currencies for transactions within the zone. Substantive conversations are underway with large technology firms exploring this location.
SolarWinds users began reporting access problems Wednesday afternoon, with outage-tracking site Downdetector logging a surge in complaints starting around 11:44 a.m. EDT, coinciding with an official incident acknowledgment from the company confirming elevated errors affecting its North American application services.
Downdetector’s official account flagged the surge in a post shortly after the reports began, asking affected users how the disruption was impacting them and directing people to its live outage map for updates. The hashtag “SolarwindsDown” began circulating on social media as users compared notes on the issue.
SolarWinds’ own status page confirmed an active incident affecting its Service Desk platform, describing “elevated 500 errors” impacting the application specifically within North America, with the incident classified as “minor” and marked as ongoing at the time of the company’s initial posting. The company’s status page indicated its team was actively investigating the issue affecting SolarWinds Service Desk, with some users potentially unable to access the application during the disruption.
“We are currently investigating an issue affecting SolarWinds Service Desk. Some users may be unable to access the application at this time,” the company said in its status update. “Our team is actively working to identify the cause and restore service as quickly as possible. We will share another update as soon as more information is available.”
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SolarWinds, a major provider of IT infrastructure management and observability software used widely by enterprise customers, network administrators and managed service providers, operates a broad suite of products spanning network monitoring, IT service management and cloud-based observability tools. The company’s Service Desk platform specifically serves as a help desk and IT service management tool used by organizations to track, manage and resolve internal technology support requests.
Wednesday’s reported disruption adds to a documented history of periodic service issues affecting various SolarWinds products over recent months. According to StatusGator’s incident tracking, SolarWinds Service Desk recorded seven separate incidents over a recent 90-day period, including three classified as major outages and four minor incidents, with a median incident duration of roughly two hours and 40 minutes. A separate incident recorded in June specifically involved delayed visibility of incidents within the company’s U.S. data center, an issue that was subsequently resolved.
SolarWinds’ broader observability platform has also experienced scheduled maintenance windows and intermittent service issues in recent weeks. According to the company’s cloud observability status page, a maintenance window conducted in early August caused potential delays in data ingestion and alerting within specific data cells, while a separate incident later that same week caused intermittent login failures and delays in viewing the latest logs and metrics data for affected customers, with the company warning that some users might receive false positive alerts as a result of those delays.
Given SolarWinds’ significant role in enterprise IT infrastructure management, disruptions affecting its platforms can have meaningful downstream effects on the organizations that rely on its tools to monitor their own networks and manage internal technology support processes. A support desk outage specifically can leave IT teams temporarily unable to track or respond to internal technology issues through their normal workflow, potentially compounding the operational impact of any concurrent technical problems those organizations might be experiencing.
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SolarWinds has faced heightened scrutiny over its security and reliability practices in recent years, stemming in significant part from a major supply chain cyberattack disclosed in December 2020, in which suspected state-sponsored hackers compromised the company’s Orion network monitoring software to infiltrate numerous U.S. government agencies and private companies. That incident, while unrelated to Wednesday’s reported service disruption, has continued to shape broader public and industry attention toward the company’s operational security and service reliability in the years since.
Outage-tracking platforms including Downdetector, StatusGator and StatusStack compile crowdsourced reports from affected users and cross-reference them against companies’ official status pages to help determine the scope and severity of a given service disruption. In Wednesday’s case, the timing of the Downdetector report spike aligned closely with SolarWinds’ own official acknowledgment of the elevated error issue affecting its Service Desk application, providing a relatively clear, corroborated picture of the disruption compared with some outages where user reports and official company statements diverge more significantly.
For SolarWinds customers experiencing ongoing access issues, the company’s official status page remained the most direct source of real-time updates regarding the incident’s progress and eventual resolution. Standard troubleshooting guidance for service disruptions of this kind typically includes confirming the issue is not isolated to a single user’s account or local network connection, checking for any related maintenance notices, and monitoring the affected vendor’s official status communications rather than relying solely on third-party outage trackers for the most current information.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, SolarWinds had not provided a specific timeline for full resolution of the elevated error issue affecting its Service Desk application, though the company indicated its team continued actively working to identify the underlying cause. Affected users were advised to continue monitoring both SolarWinds’ official status page and independent outage-tracking services including Downdetector for further updates as the company worked to restore normal service functionality following Wednesday’s reported disruption.
CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 4 this week, introducing a significantly overhauled health sensor system, extended battery life and a new daily “Readiness” score, while keeping the device’s physical design and $799 starting price unchanged from its predecessor.
The watch, announced alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 at Apple’s Sept. 9 “Surprise and Shine” event, is available for preorder now, with retail availability and deliveries beginning Sept. 18. According to Apple, the Ultra 4 retains the same physical dimensions, all-titanium case, 3,000-nit peak brightness display and 100-meter water resistance as the Ultra 3, making its most significant improvements largely invisible from the outside.
The centerpiece of this year’s upgrade is a completely redesigned health sensing system built around larger, more power-efficient green LEDs in the watch’s optical heart sensor, paired with the new S11 chip, Apple’s most powerful wearable processor to date. According to Apple, that combination allows the Ultra 4 to measure heart rate every five seconds, a 60-fold increase in sampling frequency compared with the Ultra 3, while heart rate variability is now measured up to every five minutes, a 24-fold increase over the prior generation.
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Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of worldwide Apple Watch product marketing, described the significance of those sensor upgrades in the company’s official announcement.
“The new Health Sensing System and S11 chip take Apple Watch Ultra 4 — our most rugged and capable Apple Watch — to the next level, delivering longer battery life, faster charging, and the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,” Drance said.
Tom’s Guide, which conducted hands-on testing ahead of the device’s launch, confirmed Apple’s claims regarding sensor accuracy based on the company’s own internal testing against both competing wearables and a traditional chest-mounted heart rate monitor. According to Tom’s Guide editorial lead Dan Bracaglia, Apple says the Ultra 4 and Series 12, which share the same underlying sensor technology, now rank as the most accurate heart trackers among any wearable currently on the market.
That increased sampling frequency powers the watch’s most significant new software feature: Readiness, a daily score ranging from 0 to 10 that analyzes a user’s recent activity, training load, sleep quality and vital signs to offer a simple recommendation for how to approach the day ahead, categorized as “Recover,” “Pace Yourself,” “Ready” or “Go For It.” According to Apple, the underlying calculation draws on baseline data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study to help contextualize each user’s individual readings.
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Battery life saw the most dramatic improvement of any single specification on the Ultra 4. According to TidBITS, everyday battery life climbed from 42 hours on the Ultra 3 to 50 hours on the new model, while Low Power Mode extended from 72 hours to 84 hours. A new Max Extended Workout mode allows the watch to track outdoor runs, walks and hikes for up to 45 hours while still taking GPS readings every second, giving endurance athletes and backcountry users significantly more tracking capability during extended activities without needing to recharge.
Beyond health monitoring, the Ultra 4 also introduces a new set of Audio Intelligence features enabled by the S11 chip’s dedicated, hardware-isolated Secure Exclave, according to Appleosophy. These include Live Rewind, which generates a short text transcript of the previous 15 seconds of speech with a double press of the Digital Crown, and Siri Recap, which summarizes recent conversations without storing the underlying raw audio, reflecting Apple’s continued emphasis on processing sensitive data on-device rather than in the cloud. Some of these Audio Intelligence features are not expected to become available until later in 2026, following the watch’s initial launch.
The Ultra 4 also ships with support for Apple’s newly redesigned Siri AI assistant, part of the broader iOS 27 and watchOS 27 software ecosystem Apple introduced alongside its new hardware this week. A pedometer algorithm rebuilt using machine learning on the S11 chip is intended to deliver more accurate real-time step counts and distance tracking during outdoor workouts, according to Neowin’s coverage of the announcement.
Despite the substantial internal upgrades, some early coverage has noted specific limitations that did not make it into this year’s model. According to SmartBodyTouch, the Ultra 4 does not include cuff-accurate blood pressure monitoring or non-invasive blood glucose tracking, two features that had been the subject of speculation ahead of the announcement. DigiTimes had previously reported that Apple submitted a more advanced real-time blood pressure alert feature for U.S. Food and Drug Administration review, though whether or when that specific capability might eventually ship remains dependent on regulatory clearance rather than a confirmed feature of the current Ultra 4 hardware.
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A redesigned Health app on iPhone is set to arrive later this year alongside the new hardware, introducing a new Longevity tab featuring a Health Age metric that compares a user’s tracked health data against age-based benchmarks, according to MacDailyNews’ coverage of the announcement.
For prospective buyers weighing whether to upgrade, SmartBodyTouch’s early assessment characterized the Ultra 4 as representing the most substantial update to the Ultra lineup since its original 2022 launch, driven primarily by the expanded sensor array and its downstream software features rather than any change to the watch’s external design. The outlet suggested the upgrade would prove most compelling for users currently on an Ultra 2 or the original Ultra model, while recommending that current Ultra 3 owners consider skipping this particular generation given the relatively modest physical changes involved.
With the Apple Watch Ultra 4 now available for preorder at its unchanged $799 starting price and set to begin shipping Sept. 18, the device’s real-world performance, particularly the accuracy of its redesigned health sensors and the practical usefulness of its new Readiness score, will become clearer once independent reviewers and early adopters have had the opportunity to test the watch extensively following its retail launch later this month.
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