Apple, a company that once marked its global ambitions with the ceremonial ribbon-cutting of gleaming new stores, has gone quiet on that front. Since opening its Sainte-Catherine location in Montreal in January 2026, the company has announced no further retail expansions — no new addresses, no timelines, no explanations. In a season of major product launches, the silence from Apple's newsroom invites reflection on what physical presence means to a company that has long treated its stores as cathedrals of consumer experience.