# Apple's $3,999 touchscreen Mac, Ottawa's telecom roadmap, and a Canadian spacewalk

> Canadian prices for Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro, Ottawa's plan for cheaper phone and internet, a phishing warning, Wealthsimple's raise and a spacewalk.

- Published: 2026-10-29T11:00:00.000Z
- By: The Circuit Staff
- Type: Daily Briefing
- Topics: Daily Briefing, Devices, Telecom, Security, Fintech
- URL: https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-29-briefing/

Here's what happened in tech yesterday.

## 1. Apple's first touchscreen Mac starts at $3,999 in Canada

Apple's new MacBook Pro has a tandem OLED "PROLED XDR" display with touch built in, and a Dynamic Island at the top of the screen. The 14-inch starts at [$3,999 and the 16-inch at $4,799](https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2026/10/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-macbook-pro-with-proled-xdr-display/), with pre-orders open now and delivery from Nov. 6. [Everything Apple announced this week, with Canadian prices](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-28-everything-apple-announced-canada/)

**Why it matters:** Canadian prices sit at or a little below the U.S. ones converted, so there's no extra "Canada tax" here.

## 2. Ottawa publishes a telecom competition roadmap

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly released Canada's first [Telecom Competition Roadmap](https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2026/10/government-of-canada-launches-telecom-competition-roadmap-to-improve-competition-and-increase-choice-for-canadians.html). It promises easier access to existing networks for competitors, simpler switching, fewer fees, a "dig once" approach to speed up network building, and new spectrum rules. It sets no deadlines or price targets. Instead it will track prices, switching, speeds, coverage and complaints. [Read the full story](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-29-telecom-competition-roadmap/)

**Why it matters:** The direction is right, but without targets, the real test is what the CRTC and spectrum rules actually do next.

## 3. A phishing campaign is calling Canadian staff pretending to be IT

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security [warns of callers posing as internal help desks](https://cyber.gc.ca/en/alerts-advisories/al26-028-ongoing-help-desk-voice-phishing-campaign-targeting-canadian-organizations) who claim an urgent password, MFA or passkey change is needed, then send staff to lookalike sign-in pages that capture their login and MFA codes. Since July it has focused on finance and law firms, and in October mostly law firms. [Read the full story](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-29-help-desk-phishing-calls/)

**Why it matters:** Phishing-resistant MFA, such as passkeys or security keys, defeats this. So does hanging up and calling IT back on a number you already know. [Our story on AI-speeded attacks](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-28-cyber-centre-agentic-ai-attacks/)

## 4. Wealthsimple raises $425 million at a $13.8-billion valuation

Existing investors led by Singapore's GIC put $300 million into the company and bought up to $125 million in shares from employees. Wealthsimple says it now has more than 4 million Canadian clients and $169 billion in assets. [Read the full story](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-28-wealthsimple-425-million-13-8-billion/)

**Why it matters:** A well-funded, profitable challenger keeps pressure on the big banks' fees.

## 5. Amazon's new Echo devices arrive in Canada

The Echo Time alarm clock ($289.99) and the Echo Studio with a built-in camera ($329.99) went on sale on Amazon.ca the same day they were announced. The new Echo Show 16 and Alexa Photo Frame weren't listed in Canada yet. [Read the full story](https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-28-amazon-echo-canada-prices/)

**Why it matters:** Amazon says Alexa+ is free with Prime in Canada, and these are built around it.

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**One more thing:** Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk is set to make his first spacewalk this morning, with NASA's Anil Menon, to install a new solar array on the space station. NASA's stream starts at 6:30 a.m. ET, and they're due outside around 8 a.m., [SpaceQ reports](https://spaceq.ca/weekly-iss-update-bigger-canadian-role-kutryks-spacewalk/). A second spacewalk is planned for Nov. 5.