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.

ShahenShah12 wrote:

very bad update.we want old launchpad in next update

"We" who? I don't want it back. Most of the people I know who I've asked about it don't care. The rest have moved on to other solutions.

You want the old launchpad. That's all well and good but no one reading here can make that happen. Let Apple know what you'd like to see here:

Product Feedback - Apple

You might also want to look at one of these third-party replacements:

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

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.

I removed the apps icon from the dock and added free version of appGrid. Walking thru its install steps it restored the apps and nested app folders I had created in old Launchpad. It finds the old data and builds it from that.

Not a 100% replacement in the UX interactions, but close enough.

[Edited by Moderator]

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.