How do I restore the old Launchpad in macOS Tahoe

wiggle321 wrote:

I tried reading this heated debate.. but it seems it comes down to preference.

Indeed.

What I'm gathering is that Apple decided to simply do away with countless users curated launchpad layouts and folders. I thought it was just getting a different UI and was now more of a window than a whole screen thing.

So if I'm understanding correctly, if I update from Sequoia, the order that I've put my launchpad items into, the pages and named folders etc, will be gone. Not only gone, but also cannot be re-created? And also gone is the trackpad gesture to get to the launchpad? And the hot corner option too?

Is this correct?

Launchpad is gone in Tahoe. That means your organization and curated folders will be gone, too, and cannot be recreated. The Apps app, which is Apple's Spotlight-driven replacement for Launchpad, is accessible via a hot corner (something not everyone knows).

Does it matter if that was an objectively efficient or inefficient way to do it? If you don't like spaced out large icons, that's fine. If your hands are usually already on the keyboard and you prefer spotlight to open apps.. great! I do that too sometimes.

But some of us just like looking at our curated little world of large pretty app icons. Describing this as "35 multi-colored icons mashed together. That must look like Walt Disney puked on the screen" is frankly, insulting and immature. Consider that these systems are also used by the disabled and, let's be real here, the elderly. Not everyone is a keyboard whiz. Some grandma somewhere is going "where is the green icon where I can FaceTime with family?". Multiply that by the user base. It is objectively a bad idea to throw out something people have curated for themselves—if that is indeed what they did.

Presumably, Apple views this as progress. It's within their power to bring it back, the issue as gotten some press (though not as much as Liquid Glass, and they are reportedly allowing that to be mitigated in 26.1). All you can do is add your voice to the chorus of feedback. I would think Apple knows more about their user base than an individual user. I'll also point out that I remember when Apple was lambasted for eliminating the floppy disk drive from their computers, and we know how that ultimately shook out.

baneyw wrote:

What about the apps that you don’t regularly use—but rely on? You don’t like having the ability to arrange those in launchpad?

Well maybe not for you? But many people rely on this as part of their every day workflow.

You get one of the free LaunchPad 3rd party replacement apps, and now you are no longer dependent on Apple.

-Or- you use folders you create, then put on the Dock, and fill with your favorite app Aliases.

-Or- you use Command-Space -> type-name-of-app

-Or- you use the replacement Apps app (which in many ways is a different form of Command-Space.

As for me, that is what Command-Shift-A is for. You can arrange the icons in the Applications folder anyway you like, if you set the folder to Finder -> View -> Sort by -> None

There are lots of way to organize apps.

But the easiest for what you are used to, would be to get a 3rd party app to replace LaunchPad. It is rather painless, and takes less time than posting in these forums.

• Launchie (App Store)
• LaunchMe (App Store)
• AppGrid Launcher (App Store)
• AppHub (paid app)
• LaunchPad on GitHub

JivingJohnson wrote:

Launchpad was super efficient. I had mine in a Hot Corner. Slide the mouse to the corner, click on app, 99% of which were on the first screen, because I'd arranged them deliberately for this purpose. It was a 5 x 7 grid....who needs more than 35 apps on a daily basis? And if you do, it's a simple 2-finger slide on the Trackpad.

As you can no longer do that, you'll have to find another option.

You can put a folder of curated and arranged aliases in your Dock. You can use one of the third-party options. You put Apps in the hot corner try to get used to that. You can learn to use Spotlight. Those are a few of your options.

Launchpad is not available in macOS 26 Tahoe. Instead, Apple has replaced it with a Spotlight-based application library similar to that on iOS. macOS organizes the apps, you cannot manually sort them. To have Apple consider your feedback on this issue, submit it here:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

A possible workaround might be a 3rd party app, such as AppGridLauncher app (Mac App Store link) or https://www.launchie.app/.

Anthony Sbarro wrote:

It's entirely illogical

And completely irrelevant. Nobody here can bring it back.

There needs to be a way to curate the apps to efficiently launch them with muscle memory.

There has been a way since OS X was released in 2001. Just create folders with aliases to the apps you want to have available. Use Shortcuts to crest a shortcut to open that folder of aliases.

We already had Spotlight search to launch apps. Why remove LaunchPad without replacing it with something just as efficient?

LaunchPad was horribly inefficient. I had to open a window, move my mouse around, click on something, maybe more than once if it was in a folder. With Spotlight Ieave my hands on the keyboard, cmd-space, type two or three letters and hit return. Way more efficient.

This is truly mind boggling. I don't understand how people who work at Apple could make such drastic changes, unless they don't actually use the products they're engineering.

Perhaps they were just like those of us who couldn’t stand using LaunchPad.

1) You're behind the times. In the dark ages, Macs liked having ‘free’ RAM and having that free RAM was how you knew you had enough. Fast forward to today, macOS uses the available memory. Typically you’ll see 20-25% of the memory free whether you have 16 GB or 48 GB. The way to determine you have sufficient memory isn’t how much is free but your memory pressure and page in/outs.

2) Try 3rd party alternatives. Apple is clearly trying to integrate the experience across their platforms. You can provide feedback, but I doubt Launchpad is coming back.

3+4) Caused by 3rd party software/extensions you’ve installed on your Mac that are not fully compatible with Tahoe. People have found issues caused by Logitech drivers, (useless) antivirus software, and an array of other things. It’s the developers’ job to make their stuff compatible, not Apple’s.

FWIW, my M4 Pro MBP (48 GB / 2 TB) is running perfectly on Tahoe. Low memory pressure, processors steady at ~40 °C.

Launchpad is gone in Tahoe. That means your organization and curated folders will be gone, too, and cannot be recreated. The Apps app, which is Apple's Spotlight-driven replacement for Launchpad, is accessible via a hot corner (something not everyone knows).

Alright thanks for the clarity, they straight up deleted user created layouts and folders, folder names, etc, instead of porting that info over to whatever the new thing is. I guess we'll see if the feedback works, and I just wont update till it's fixed. Good to know.

I'll also point out that I remember when Apple was lambasted for eliminating the floppy disk drive from their computers, and we know how that ultimately shook out.

Sure, but for every floppy story I can tell you one about how they changed a thing and then put it back. Also when you buy a computer you can see what disk reader it has or doesn't have. When folks updated to Tahoe they mostly had no idea their curated layout and folders would be trashed. It's really not the same.

JF10752 wrote:

Have they fixed this yet? Every SINGLE TIME I GO TO LAUNCH AN APPLICATION I GET ANGRY.

Fixed what? Apple deliberately changed the system, removing the old Launchpad.

Some people loved it, other never touched it.

There have been many proposed alternatives that you can try.

If you are waiting for a "fix", you will continue to be disappointed.

There are at least 4 LaunchPad replacement apps.

Launchie (App Store)

AppGrid Launcher (App Store)

AppHub (paid app)

LaunchPad on GitHub

submit feedback. sadly nobody on here can fix it. But apple can and HAS in the past put stuff back if enough people write in.

It is possible to open a folder that has your Apps in it sorted alphabetically.

It is not possible to organize this folder the same way as on your iPhone, iPad, and previous Mac operating systems allow(ed).

Searching for applications, as if the Macintosh had never existed and we're still using a command line interface, is not as efficient as using graphic icons that provide some hint to the software's function and which allow you to place them in specific places for you to access them using muscle memory in an instant.

What is illogical is that this function has been entirely removed forcing all MacOS users to adopt a command line-like method of launching applications. This function (Spotlight) already existed for people like you who find this method most efficient for them. How would you feel if Spotlight was removed and the only way to launch apps was with LaunchPad?

Apple changed MacOS's setting app to look more familiar to iOS users. For what logical reason would they remove what iOS users are familiar with to access applications?

PattyKake48 wrote:

How do I get my Launchpad back?

You don’t (unless Apple decides to restore it, but given that they removed it that seems unlikely). There are third-party alternatives that may suffice.

yeah, my advice is never, never ever blindly update. Apple does this all the time, always wait and check the forums. Turn off auto update. I'm straight up just not updating until they fix it, and if everyone did this I bet they'd be more careful about just surprise-deleting user content, which is what this was.

Submit feedback!

There's also an app on the App Store called AppGrid Launcher you might like to try.

baneyw wrote:

Well, that's certainly not faster than Launchpad with a hot corner.

It is, for me. That’s the nice thing about choices. Unfortunate for you that your favorite choice was removed because Apple made a design decision about it.

You said the dock was the fastest way to launch apps. What about all those apps that don't fit on the dock?

I explained. If you don’t understand the explanation, that’s not my fault.

We arranged our other apps in Launch Pad. We used folders to organize them. The apps we used the most were located nearest the hot corner we assigned inside Launch Pad, where it was most convenient. The apps we used less frequently were stored elsewhere, or in folders with related apps.

Yes you did, did you think you were telling me something I don’t know? Now, you can’t do that anymore unless you revert to Sequoia.

In 2011, assigning Launch Pad to a hot corner was a very popular idea. Many users like me have been using it ever since. Apparently you never discovered the beauty of this little hack. Whether or not you ever discovered it, doesn't make much difference.

I tried it. Didn’t like it. Removed it as a hot corner and deleted Launchpad from my Dock.

But if you've never discovered or used it, your opinion of it is meaningless. But just so you know: It was, in fact, the best and fastest mouse-only way to launch apps. Used when your hands are performing mouse or trackpad functions.

I’m sure there’s a ‘best’ way to do lots of things that I don’t need or want to do.

Also, your opinion of whether Apple will or will not bring back Launchpad is meaningless. They've brought back many nixed features before. If enough users express discontent with this decision, they will bring it back. Whatever that number is--and there is a number.

Indeed, time will tell. But those numbers are not counted in this forum.

Also, your opinion of the merits of discussing this issue in this support forum is meaningless. Yes, many of us know that Apple may or may not see this discussion, or act upon the contents of it.

There is no ‘may’ about it.

The responses here are extremely helpful for people like me who went searching to find out if there was a way to replace Launch Pad in macOS Tahoe. They apparently aren't useful to you, so I don't know why you're even here???

Perhaps you didn’t bother to notice that I was the first person on this thread to provide Apple’s official feedback link and links to 3rd party Launchpad replacements.

How do I restore the old Launchpad in mac… - Apple Community

[Edited by Moderator]

zZKableZz wrote:

I would use whatever method that works best for me, but Apple took that away.

I didn't think it was necessary to add that you should chose from the methods that are actually available to you in the current timeline.

Now I'm being forced to use a different method that is very apparent that a lot of people don’t like or want.

"Some" people. Based on what I've read in the press and seen on these forums, it doesn't rise to the level of "a lot."

Have you tried any of the other options people have suggested, such as Launchie? Or are you just sitting about, hoping that something will suddenly change?

Either way the 26 update across the entire ecosystem is a complete dumpster fire.

Hmm. Again, I'd say not for most people. But you should certainly let Apple know how you feel:

Product Feedback - Apple