I’m lucky that my job takes me to all kinds of events, and when I’m travelling, whether abroad and closer to home, having the right backpack to carry my kit is a no-brainer.

Harber London’s backpacks have always been a popular choice for high-end travellers, offering a mix of style and durability – I’ve been trying out the new Venture Edition of the classic Roll Top backpack, and it’s been invaluable so far.

Social media platforms are having a historical moment of reckoning in 2026, and the latest to join the list is TikTok. The short video platform has settled a lawsuit with the state of Alabama, alleging that the platform is addictive by design, exposed teens to violent and self-harm content, and led to a surge in the number of emergency room visits tied to self-harm. The lawsuit claimed that the company misled with its claims that the platform protects teen users from exposure to risky content. 

Now, the company has agreed to settle the lawsuit before it goes to trial, making it the first legal tussle of its kind against a state. “Under the settlement, Alabama will receive a minimum of $100 million, due to the state within 45 days, with the potential to receive up to $300 million if certain conditions are met,” says a press note from the office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. 

What’s ultimately changing for at-risk users?

More importantly, TikTok has agreed to implement over half a dozen restrictions to ensure that young users have a safe social media experience, following similar limits implemented by Meta, Snapchat, and even AI platforms like OpenAI in the past few months. Following is the full list of changes that have been proposed by the state of Alabama: 

• A two-hour daily time limit, with parental controls that allow parents to further limit the amount of time their children spend on TikTok.
• “Productive pauses” that interrupt teen users after 15 minutes of continuous use and again at 60 and 90 minutes to limit endless scrolling.
• “Nighttime access” that restricts children’s access from 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., plus restrictions on messaging and push notifications overnight and during school hours.
• Robust age assurance measures to more effectively verify the age of young users.
• Stronger content moderation provisions, including limits on discoverability of teen accounts by adults and parental notification of suspicious interactions between teen users and adults.
• A blanket prohibition on the use of cosmetic filters by teen users.
• A default non-personalized feed for teen users.
• Stronger, more user-friendly parental controls.

TikTok won’t be the only platform facing increased heat from regulators over harm caused by social media, especially to young users. A month ago, Meta paid over $17 billion to settle with a bunch of states, and agreed to a wide set of usage restrictions to protect users under the age of 18. Elsewhere, AI companies are also facing heat over mental health, manipulation, and misinformation risks. ChatGPT, for example, will warn parents if a child discusses sensitive topics such as mental health or when they are going through acute emotional distress, while also rolling out more effective parental controls. 

RELATED COVERAGE:

If the RAMaggedon’s good for anything, it’s turning your old GPU into a potential goldmine.

How much a used GPU could be worth in 2026

Jovana Kuzmanovic/Shutterstock

Where to sell a used GPU

Casimiro PT/Shutterstock

The data breach is in retaliation for alleged disinformation published by the FBI about ShinyHunters’ cybercrime methods, according to the group.

Cybercriminal group ShinyHunters said it breached the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) yesterday (22 September) and stole the personal information of a number of current and former FBI employees.

A screenshot shared by the group with a number of outlets reportedly showed information ShinyHunters had obtained on 5,000 FBI agents, including names, addresses, phone numbers and details on the employees’ spouses.

Reuters said it could not verify whether the screenshot was real, but was able to partially verify the authenticity of some of the information displayed – the outlet was able to match details from the leak to FBI employees in at least 10 instances, one of which was FBI director Kash Patel.

However, the publication said it could not establish where the data came from, or whether it had been stolen from the FBI’s internal systems as claimed by ShinyHunters.

According to 404 Media, which cited an FBI spokesperson, ShinyHunters was able to instigate the breach through a zero-day exploit in an Oracle product called PeopleSoft, after which the group managed to access AWS GovCloud servers and download data. The total exfiltrated data amounts to between 2TB and 3TB, according to the publication.

In a statement first posted to the group’s website on the dark web, ShinyHunters said it had targeted the FBI due to a report the agency published about the group earlier this year, which detailed the group’s methods and advised people not to pay if targeted for ransom.

ShinyHunters said the FBI made false allegations about the group and its cybercrime methods in the report – including alleged usage of threatening phone calls and false claims of compromising information – and has given the FBI one week to “correct or simply remove” the report.

It’s unclear what the group plans to do with the data if the one-week deadline passes. When asked by BleepingComputer if it would release the stolen data if the FBI failed to correct or remove the report, ShinyHunters said: “No comment.”

Commenting on the FBI breach, Closed Door Security CEO William Wright told SiliconRepublic.com: “Hell hath no fury like a ShinyHunter scorned.

“This is a retaliation attack, which not only demonstrates that no organisation is safe from the group, but also the fact that they will go to any length to protect their image.

“The group clearly wants to control the narrative around their activities, ensuring nothing is said that could dent their reputation. Just like any organisation, reputation is everything, even in the dark and unruly world of cybercrime.”

Wright also said Oracle needs to act fast to mitigate the zero-day vulnerability that allegedly allowed this breach to occur.

“It is essential Oracle takes steps to understand the [exploited] CVE [Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures] and whether it is already known to them. If not, an emergency update is essential,” he said.

“Any gaps between this announcement and a patch being released will only leave organisations vulnerable. Other threats actors will use the gap to exploit the CVE and launch further attacks.”

ShinyHunters has been linked to a number of high-profile breaches in recent months.

In March, the prolific group claimed responsibility for a breach of the European Commission’s Europa.eu platform, in which a reported 350GB of data, across multiple databases, was accessed and stolen.

In May, ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for hacking education management platform Canvas and issued a ransom to Canvas parent company Instructure. Some days later, Instructure reached an agreement with the group.

Recently, ShinyHunters targeted rival cybercrime group Clop by hacking and defacing its ransomware leak site in an escalation of a dispute between the two groups.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Mitsubishi spent the late 1980s and early 1990s stretching the limits of glass and electron guns until a 40-inch direct-view tube became something you could actually buy. The CS4307 belongs to that short, expensive run of sets that sat at the top of the company’s American lineup in the mid-1990s. Few other makers even tried a tube this large for living-room use. Projection sets offered more inches for less money, yet they never matched the punch of a real cathode-ray picture. Owners who wanted the biggest possible image without a projector chose this family of Mitsubishi consoles and paid accordingly.

A finished CS4307 weighs about 250 pounds and measures 39 and a half inches broad, 32 inches tall, and 27 inches deep, making it a bit of a handful to lift. Usually, you need four adults to lift the item. The cabinets, by the way, come in a fairly standard dark plastic with a very basic front panel layout that includes a power button, volume control, channel select, input select, a dedicated degauss switch because, you know, having one on the front can be useful at times, and an A/V reset for when things go wrong.

Sale

Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet, built for relaxation, 10.1″ vibrant Full HD screen, octa-core processor, 4 GB…

• Do what you love, uninterrupted — 25% faster performance than the previous generation and is ideal for seamless streaming, reading, and gaming.
• High-def entertainment — A 10.1″ 1080p Full HD display brings brilliant color to all your shows and games. Binge watch longer with 13-hour battery…
• Thin, light, durable — Tap into entertainment from anywhere with a lightweight, durable design and strengthened glass made from aluminosilicate…

Rear connections? Pretty basic for the time, however most 1996 versions include RF, composite, and S-Video; later, one of its siblings added component video, making it the only 40-inch standard-definition set in North America with that input. Some of the higher-end models also had twin tuners, which allowed you to view one channel in a small window while retaining the other full screen. The stereo speakers that came with it sit on either side of the image tube and generate surprisingly clear sound for a mid-nineties television.

Mitsubishi built the chassis in Braselton, Georgia, and paired it with a Japanese-made slot-mask tube with a dark tint and a dual-focus electron gun. Horizontal scan remains rock solid at 15 kHz, vertical scan at 60 Hz, hence the set performs best at 240p and 480i. Now I’m told that the three-line digital comb filter handles the most of the work when it comes to differentiating color and brightness.

The geometry on a well-adjusted example is somewhat unexpected, especially given the size of the thing, since circles appear round and squares appear square after consulting the service menu. Of course, color purity is important, as the huge glass in this item is sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field. That’s why you get a variety of switches to help tell the set if it’s facing north, south, or sitting in a neutral position, as well as a manual degauss button right on the front for when the picture starts to become a little weird and you get that telltale patch of color.

The list price was between $3,400 and $4,000 ($7,259 and $8,540 today), depending on the year and any extras you wanted, such as the StarSight program guide or the ViewPoint on-screen menu. For that money, you got a picture with deep blacks, natural skin tones, and enough brightness to cut through a typically lighted room after a little gray-scale tweaking. Letterboxed films looked their best because the black bars stayed black, and retro gamers later discovered the same strength: 240p from a NES, Super Nintendo, or PlayStation looked sharp and colorful through S-Video, and the large screen on set thing brought light-gun games closer to the arcade experience.

Shenzhen-based firm Reolink is a well-established brand in the home security market having gained a solid reputation for well-built, user-friendly cameras and video doorbells at an affordable price. I’ve reviewed quite a few models for TechRadar in my time and have generally been very impressed. One particular favourite is the recently launched Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam which combines a solar panel with two powerful spotlights either side of the main unit, as well as a loud onboard siren.

Like the Solar Floodlight Cam, the OMVI 3i also features powerful spotlights (there are eight in total) plus an ear-piercing 110dB siren. However, the key difference is that rather than relying on solar power combined with a built-in lithium-ion battery that can be recharged, the much bulkier Reolink OMVI 3i is mains-operated only and can’t be powered by battery or solar. This means it will have to be located near an AC power supply which isn’t always possible outdoors.

Two versions are available, a wired Power of Ethernet (PoE) version and the Wi-Fi model that we tested. Unlike some cheaper models, the OMVI 3i supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi — though the 5GHz frequencies are recommended for outdoor use. Practically identical to one another, both models are very bulky, requiring careful mounting on a wall using a drill in conjunction with brackets, screws and wall plugs provided.

Whereas most security cameras rely on cloud-based processing to identify objects, this latest Reolink features powerful integrated edge AI. This onboard intelligence allows the camera to easily distinguish between people, animals, and vehicles, letting you independently adjust sensitivity settings for each category to help dramatically reduce false alarms. Particularly clever is the smart tracking option alongside advanced package detection, which can alert you if a parcel is removed from a specific zone – making it a potentially useful tool in the fight against porch pirates.

Apple’s new Health Sensing System for Apple Watch Ultra 4 means more accurate and more frequent health metric tracking. It feels like the peak offering of a device before a necessary complete redesign.

Nearly every improvement made to Apple Watch Ultra 4 relates to health, fitness, and the ability to track those metrics. Even the longer battery life was pitched as a way to track metrics over a longer period of time.

Tim Cook may have stepped down as CEO before Apple Watch Ultra 4 was revealed, but it and the Apple Watch Series 12 are clear realizations of his vision. Apple Watch is a health-focused wearable that aims to improve the wearer’s life, and perhaps even save them in emergency situations.

Out of all of Apple’s products, the Apple Watch is perhaps the most mature with very little wiggle room, even when compared to the Apple TV — there just isn’t enough space. That is clear given that even the Apple Watch Ultra 4 gained a gram in weight thanks to the new sensor system.

The Apple Watch Ultra line appears to be in an even more awkward position compared to the standard “Series” line. It has consistently received all of the updates brought to models like Apple Watch Series 12 (on sale now), but nothing “Ultra” has been added or upgraded since the original model’s launch.

As I pointed out in my Apple Watch Ultra 3 review, it’s still the larger, high-end watch with the most sensors and ruggedness. However, Apple seems stumped on how to iterate on the premium Apple Watch beyond keeping it in lock step with the rest of the lineup.

That said, the 2026 model at least is a significant step forward. Here’s what Apple Watch Ultra 4 offers.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Design

When you’re looking at Apple Watch Ultra 4 on someone’s wrist, you’ll never guess which generation it is from design alone. Apple has stuck with the same design since the original launched, though the black option did arrive as a change in gen 2.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Same design, color, and orange Action button

Flip it on its back and you’ll see a significant difference thanks to the new Health Sensing System. Apple has replaced the sensor stack with updated components for more frequent and more accurate readings.

The electrodes are larger, which surround the photo diodes where green LEDs are shown through to collect data. This all fits in the Apple Watch, though there has been a weight increase of about 1.4 grams.

It’s such a small change that I haven’t noticed a difference.

The display is identical across generations, you’re getting the same 100m dive spec, and it is still a titanium case with orange accents. I do think Apple could have made a statement with a new case color or design tweak, but that wasn’t for this year.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Features

Much of what was introduced in Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Apple Watch Series 12 is tied to the updated Health app coming in iOS 27.2. I’ve tested the Watch with and without this update, but I won’t spend too much time on the app itself here.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Every upgrade can be tied to S11 and new sensors

All of the metrics that matter most on Apple Watch saw a boost with the new system. These upgrades come at no loss of battery life, and even then, Apple says the battery life has increased in the latest generation.

Here is every new feature for Apple Watch Ultra 4:

• Health Sensing System
• Second-generation electrical heart sensor
• Always-on optical heart sensor
• Improved step tracking
• Recovery HRV
• High-frequency background heart rate tracking
• HRV in the Vitals app
• Audio Intelligence
• Single-tap gesture

There’s also the new Readiness app, but I’ve not had enough nights of data collection for it to show anything just yet. It gathers data over a week, and as this is published, it has been a week since getting the device. I’ll discuss Readiness when I write more about the new Health app, which deserves its own full breakdown.

All of these new sensors add up to a new health-forward platform that should excite anyone that likes putting data in databases. Your heart rate is read every five seconds and HRV data is collected every five minutes.

Heart Rate Variability has become a popular way to measure a person’s overall health, mostly due to products like the Whoop health band. Apple already collected this data, but it is putting it front and center with the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Feeding more data into Apple Health

Advertisement

I personally don’t care about any individual health metric, but the idea of getting more data that’s more accurate is appealing to me. I want my new Apple Health app with Apple Intelligence to have every bit it can to help with my health journey.

I don’t feel the need to detail every Apple Watch Ultra feature, as they should be fairly well-known by now. It’s a rugged smartwatch that can withstand extreme conditions, has a siren for emergencies, can make emergency calls via satellite, and has a much longer battery life than standard Apple Watches.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 has identical wireless specs with Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.3, and 5G.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 was my first Apple Watch Ultra, so I broke down the smaller details in that review. That’s the thing — Apple’s Ultra updates lack new “Ultra” features, so rehashing identical feature lists seems redundant.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: This is an Apple Watch Ultra 3, but you wouldn’t have known that without being told

The base feature set exclusive to Apple Watch Ultra hasn’t changed since the original model beyond satellite connectivity. I’m glad Apple has added the S11 and the benefits provided by that chipset, but we’re not seeing anything else.

That chipset is what enables many of the upgrades without sacrificing battery life. The S11 has a neural engine derived from the A20 Pro used in iPhone 18 Pro (check deals), which enables new AI features.

A boost in battery life

That battery life is particularly impressive with Apple Watch Ultra 4, as it gained about 8 hours in regular use. Previously, Apple Watch Ultra could last about 42 hours without a charge, but now it’s 50 hours.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Battery life for days

That takes it well over the two-day without-charging threshold. For most people, that should mean taking it off to charge while showering should occur at some point in that 50 hours.

And yes, charging in the shower is more than enough time to top off the battery. Get 80% battery in about 45 minutes or fast charge for just 15 minutes for 18 additional hours of use.

I take a long shower and don’t rush to put the watch back on, so that’s more than enough time to get the battery somewhere near 100% every day or two. It may be the “rugged” or “adventurer” Apple Watch, but I am willing to bet much of the sales of Apple Watch Ultra comes from people seeking longer battery life.

That said, it is quite the smartwatch for athletes. Apple says that people running a 100-mile race have enough battery life to log the entire race in workout tracking mode.

There’s not much more lengthy or demanding than that in sports.

Using Apple Watch Ultra 4

You know the drill, this is an Apple Watch. It may have a more rugged case and the addition of an Action button, but it’s a nearly identical experience in most use cases to standard models.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: It’s still an Apple Watch through and through

Advertisement

I was worried about Apple Watch Ultra having too big a case or being awkwardly large or heavy on my arm. Thankfully, I was wrong on all counts.

Apple’s lack of significant upgrades year-over-year in several Apple Watch cycles left me believing that 2026 would be the year I could skip an update. If anything, the update this year is far mor significant than the 2025 model, which of course meant another upgrade for me.

I’m not an athlete, I don’t climb mountains in sub-zero climates, and I don’t dive deep into the ocean with a scuba tank. Nope, I’m your average, could be in better shape, work from home, desk worker.

The longer battery life, larger display, Action button, titanium build, and additional features are all attractive and useful to me. It is why I went Ultra the moment we got a black color and new chip generation, and I expect that’s the case for many people.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: More accurate health sensors that track more often

I’m sure there’s a better use of the Action button, but I’ve kept it mapped to opening Workouts. It lets me quickly start a walking workout each day, which is something I’m trying to do regularly.

The new Siri Modular watch face is nice. I’ve begun using it for my personal watch face, while Wayfinder remains excellent for my work face.

I’ve already begun incorporating the new Apple Health app into my daily routine. I check it for health insights, trends, and am making changes to my life to try and meet certain goals.

This review isn’t the place to get into all of that, but I do think the new hardware capabilities and the Apple Health upgrades will be excellent selling points. It’s not that I don’t know how to be healthy or eat right, but having these apps and devices laying bare my exact health metrics and how to improve them, it’s hard to ignore.

More on that soon.

Absent Audio Intelligence

I really wanted to write about these controversial new AI features introduced in Apple Watch Ultra 4. Unfortunately, they’re not here yet, not even in beta.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Audio Intelligence isn’t available yet

Advertisement

One neat feature enabled by the more powerful chipset is the new near-instant Shazam music recognition. I can raise my wrist, double tap to open the Smart Stack, and the first item in my stack is usually Shazam, which quickly shows whatever song is playing around me.

The single tap gesture works when selecting items in Smart Stack or clicking buttons shown on the display. It doesn’t always work, but I appreciate the new gesture.

Anyway, Siri AI is fast and accessible on Apple Watch Ultra 4. I asked several world knowledge questions, some personal based on data from Messages, and both worked great.

It’s a very similar experience to what you’ll find on iPhone. I asked what was for dinner, which is in my Calendar, then I asked if it was a healthy meal.

Then, I asked when my friend’s birthday is and what gifts it would recommend. While the recommendations were a bit silly, I appreciate that it was able to do these queries at all, let alone on an Apple Watch.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: The new Siri app is front and center in watchOS 27

Audio Intelligence is going to be quite the interesting feature to test. I’ve had mixed reactions from various people in my life that I’ve described it to.

It’s what you would expect — some call out the potential utility while others see the obvious potential for abuses. We won’t know what this will and won’t enable until it can be tested.

So, as much as I’d like to have something to say about the feature, that’ll have to wait for another day. I do believe what Apple has on offer in the 2026 Apple Watch generation should make any AI wearable company at least a little nervous.

Apple’s new health mandate

Increasingly, it feels like Apple’s messaging around Apple Watch is “if you don’t wear Apple Watch, you could die.” It’s a terrific if terrifying prospect for many reasons.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Another cog in Apple’s AI and health machine

Apple Watch Ultra 4 lasts longer than ever when worn, so you don’t even need to charge it before sleeping most nights. Every bit of data will help you meet your goals, so every second without an Apple Watch is a missed opportunity to prove to the Health app how well you’re doing.

I know that some people will find that disturbing, while others will find it enticing. I personally can appreciate the motivation that logging, aggregating, and viewing data can bring, with the added bonus of it not being sold, so bring it on.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 isn’t necessary to take advantage of the upcoming Apple Health app updates, but it’ll provide a more accurate, more constant series of metrics. I can easily highly recommend the Apple Watch Ultra 4 to anyone that cares about health, fitness, or wearable AI tools.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 – Pros

• Exceeding two days of battery on a single charge is amazing
• Health Sensing System means more accurate, more frequent data
• S11 provides a more native-feeling Siri AI experience
• Rugged, durable, and includes the useful Action button

Apple Watch Ultra 4 – Cons

• Apple still hasn’t bothered with new “Ultra” features
• The overall Apple Watch experience doesn’t differ much from the regular Apple Watch beyond what improved specs bring
• Audio Intelligence isn’t available to test and remains quite controversial as a feature

Review: 4 out of 5

If you’re wondering exactly how an Apple Watch Ultra might get a perfect score, it would be a redesign in addition to useful new features making Apple Watch Ultra more than just an Apple Watch with titanium and a larger screen. We’ve got some great health upgrades, AI features, and more battery life, but you wouldn’t know, and can’t tell that it’s new.

Design isn’t everything though. Apple needs to give Apple Watch Ultra users new Ultra-focused features as well, which is the main issue.

Otherwise, this is a great Apple Watch upgrade and I can easily recommend one, even if you’re coming from the previous model. It just needs more in 2026.

Where to buy the Apple Watch Ultra 4 at a discount

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is on sale now, with prices dipping to as low as $779.99 at Amazon at press time.

You can compare the latest Apple Watch Ultra 4 prices and deals across popular retailers in our Price Guide as seasonal sales pop up.

Limited inventory remains on the last-generation Ultra 3, with closeout deals at your fingertips in our Apple Watch Ultra 3 Price Guide.