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, with pre-orders open now and delivery from Nov. 6. Everything Apple announced this week, with Canadian prices
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. 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
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 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
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
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
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
Why it matters: Amazon says Alexa+ is free with Prime in Canada, and these are built around it.
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. A second spacewalk is planned for Nov. 5.