Hi, I’m Samantha Edwards, an editor at The Globe and Mail. Welcome back to Lately, The Globe’s new tech newsletter where every Friday morning I break down the week’s biggest tech stories and how they intersect with – and even change – our world.
In this issue:
⛔ Redditors take on Loblaw
💰 Shopify, Wealthsimple and other notable Canadian tech earnings reports
📺 Get ready to see more ads during Fallout and your other Amazon Prime favs
💥 The new iPad Pro levels up
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How a country-wide Loblaw boycott was born out of Reddit
The subreddit Loblaws is Out of Control inspired the one-month boycott.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
What started as a subreddit to post memes and complain about high prices at Loblaws has turned into a country-wide movement, prompting a month-long boycott of all Loblaw-owned stores and an e-petition for policy change that’s currently in the House of Commons.
The subreddit where it all started, Loblaws is Out of Control, has grown to over 75,000 members since its creation in October, 2023, and the e-petition has 17,000 signatures. The group’s demands include an immediate 15-per-cent price reduction, Loblaw signing the grocery code of conduct and no further retailer-led price increases for the year.
Emily Johnson, a mental-health worker in Milton, Ont., who started the group, said she met with Loblaw chief executive officer Per Bank last week where he discussed what the company is trying to do to help with cost of living struggles. The boycott started on May 1, the same day Loblaw posted $13.58-billion in first quarter revenue – up 4.5 per cent compared with the same period the prior year.
On this week’s episode of Lately, host Vass Bednar and researcher Denise Hearn discuss how the subreddit crystallized Canadians’ frustration with “greedflation” and what it says about the current state of competition in Canada.
The good, the bad and the okay in Canadian tech earnings
Shopify posted solid revenue growth, but shares dropped nearly 20 per cent.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
Happy first quarter earnings season, for all who celebrate. Here’s a quick rundown
- Shopify posted solid revenue growth, but shares dropped nearly 20 per cent on Wednesday morning after lower-than-expected estimates for next quarter.
- Two years after its growth stalled, Wealthsimple booked $7.7-billion in the first quarter of 2024 as investors deposited funds across its savings and investing accounts.
- The Ryan Reynolds-backed payments company, Nuvei, lost US$4.8-million in the first quarter, compared with an $8.3-million loss a year prior. Earlier this spring, Nuvei agreed to a takeover by private equity firm, Advent International Corp. for approximately US$6.3-billion.
The iPad Pro gets slimmer and quicker
The new iPad Pro is available May 15.Supplied
Apple announced its next-gen of iPads this week. The big change? Their size and speed. The revamped iPad Pro will contain a new M4 chip, which Apple says is 50-per-cent faster than the previous M2, allowing the tablet to run AI features.
To showcase just how powerful it is, Apple released a commercial depicting a hydraulic press crushing musical instruments, paint cans and cameras to make a new iPad. The image of Big Tech destroying artistic tools did not sit well with people online.
As one commenter wrote on X, “This ad effectively convinced me I need less technology in my life.” The company was even compelled to apologize for it after the fact, with an Apple spokesperson telling Ad Age, “We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”
And some other bad news for the still-tethered lovers among us: Apple discontinued the ninth-generation of the iPad, otherwise known as the last version with a headphone jack.
More ads are coming to streaming
Subscribers will have to pay an extra $2.99 to opt out of the ads.Patrick Semansky/The Canadian Press
Remember back in the early days of streaming services, when there was only one subscription type and it cost less than $10 a month? Oh, how times have changed.
Four months after Amazon Prime first announced ads on its video platform, this week the company announced it was rolling out new interactive shoppable ads that would allow viewers to purchase products during ad breaks in shows and movies. The shopping ads will also appear whenever you pause a video. To opt-out of the ads, subscribers will have to fork over an extra $2.99 a month.
Soundbite
“Loblaw and so many companies like them are kind of the everything company. They’re moving away from competing within industries to owning assets across industries, and that’s a problem for competition.” – Economics researcher Denise Hearn on Canada’s struggle with a new era of competition, on this week’s episode of Lately.
What else we’re reading this week:
- FinTRAC fines crypto firm Binance $6-million over anti-money laundering shortfalls (The Globe and Mail)
- Why the Taliban love social media (The Walrus)
- Neuralink’s first brain-chip implant in a human appeared flawless. There was a problem. (The Wall Street Journal)
Adult Money:
I just know these headphones would increase my productivity in the office tenfold.Supplied
Like many workplaces these days, The Globe’s office is open-concept, which means I frequently overhear my colleagues going through story edits on the phone, debating breaking news alerts or lamenting the lack of nearby lunch options. As a perennial eavesdropper, in order to retain a semblance of concentration, I need to listen to music basically at all times, specifically through headphones. (I have AirPods, but since my hair covers my ears, I get neurotic that people will think I’m ignoring them if they try to talk to me.)
My Sony WH-XB700 wireless headphones have treated me well for years, but I’m looking to upgrade to a pair that’s more comfortable and with better quality noise-cancelling. The Sony WH-1000XM5 are pricey at $429.99, yet I’m intrigued by all the bells and whistles: noise reduction specifically for minimizing wind noise, a design that puts less pressure on the ears and a feature that automatically stops your music if you start talking.
Culture radar:
The Met Gala was on Monday, the annual fashion bonanza where celebrities, influencers and other A-listers wear ostentatious outfits to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As the first gala since the proliferation of generative AI, it was also a bonanza for deepfakes. AI-generated images of Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian generated thousands of likes and views online, before eventually getting flagged as fakes on X and Instagram.
While altered images of stars in over-the-top gowns aren’t exactly harmful, it is an alarming example of how quickly and easily manipulated photos can spread on social media.