Since macos Tahoe the launchpad is gone which makes OS very unpleasant and unproductive!
Is there a way to go back to macos Sequoia or do I need to find a substitute for my macbook since this makes laptop as good as useless.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Launchpad gone
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 26.0
Blonde_Hexe wrote:
I want the folders back, which I had in the good old Launchpad before macOS Tahoe. I used to arrange my apps in folders to bring order in my apps, because I have really installed a lot of apps on my Mac.
You can have folders. Make a folder on the desktop. Call it "My Apps" or whatever suits you. Make all the subfolders you want in that folder. Put aliases of apps in the folders you'd like them to be in. Neat trick, you can put an alias of the one app in more than one folder. Once your done, drop the whole folder on the Dock and set it to "Keep in Dock."
You can also try one of the third party alternatives such as AppLauncher (in the App Store) or launchie.
Please Apple, bring back the folders in the Launchpad
Apple doesn't read here for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:
Blonde_Hexe wrote:
I want the folders back, which I had in the good old Launchpad before macOS Tahoe. I used to arrange my apps in folders to bring order in my apps, because I have really installed a lot of apps on my Mac.
You can have folders. Make a folder on the desktop. Call it "My Apps" or whatever suits you. Make all the subfolders you want in that folder. Put aliases of apps in the folders you'd like them to be in. Neat trick, you can put an alias of the one app in more than one folder. Once your done, drop the whole folder on the Dock and set it to "Keep in Dock."
You can also try one of the third party alternatives such as AppLauncher (in the App Store) or launchie.
Please Apple, bring back the folders in the Launchpad
Apple doesn't read here for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:
It's ⌘ + ⇧ + A (CMD + SHIFT + A) while in Finder to show the /Applications view and if you customize the view, you can turn off the arrangement of icons and position things where you want them. Change the view to another folder and press the shortcut key to return to /Applications. It should remember the layout. However, at some point it will possibly forget and then you'll need to reposition them. But for the most part this works really well.
In Finder /Applications right-click and Show View Options set Group & Sort to none and ensure that Always Open in Icon View is checked as well as Browse in Icon View. Adjust the layout of the Applications the way you want them. Change the view and press the shortcut key and you are back in /Applications with it remembering the icon layout thus granting you the spatial awareness you are seeking.
Astoriaguy76 wrote:
This new way to launch apps is totally not Apple. I had no warning, and now when I click the new apps button, all the apps I have on my phone as well as on my Mac are intermingled. This kills my productivity as now I have to either search for the app I need or scroll through an endless list of BS apps that I use on my phone now on my Mac. I am really hating Apple right now. After almost 20 years of using Macs, I am rethinking my setup and may move back to a PC. Total garbage!!
We understand that not everybody follows the new from Apple when they Announced on Jun 5, 2025 the pending release of Tahoe
Though they did make an effort to present some of the New Features coming to Tahoe
As for iPhone apps appearing
Easy > > System Setting >> Spotlight and scroll down to near the bottom
spherical89 wrote:
Now, excuse me, I've had launchpad under the trackpad gesture, so I didn't need to use the keyboard at all, which DOES make a difference for convenience. If you don't see that then you don't see that, but I do, and I can't be the only one. Also, a much larger number of apps could be seen - and chosen from - at the same time, without scrolling. They were organized the way I want them (including custom folders) and not alphabetically. I had all my apps there, whereas the applications folder does NOT show my web apps.
Why are you telling us? We can't give you back Launchpad?
Submit your feedback to Apple here:
Meanwhile, take a look at the third-party replacements such as Launchie.
You can also invoke Apps using a trackpad gesture by adding it to a hot corner.
asvpx wrote:
What an absolutely pointless answer ...adapt to change. Typing 'App' doesn't even bring up the App Store, nor does 'Messages' bring up Messages !! The thing is broken and no matter how you want to spin it, the simple launching of an application now involves extra steps for which there is zero benefit.
Respectfully , disagree
(Cmd) + spacebar will invoke Spotlight
Mouse over A for Applications or ⌘ + 1
Mouse over second icon for Files or ⌘ + 2
Mouse over third icon for Actions or ⌘ + 3
Mouse over fourth icon for Clipboard or ⌘ + 4
Using the ⌘ + 1 in may case
It brings up a host of applications that came pre-installed with macOS 26 Tahoe and other Third Party Applications like “Ad and Stuff “ / Carbon Copy Cloner / Etrecheck Pro, Firefox and others
Launchpad has been replaced by Apps and performs the same function. Open Apps and a list of apps will be presented in list form. You can change from List to Grid by clicking on the ⋯⃝ more button at the top right of the Apps window. Apps are also categorized by type (Utilities, Productivity, etc.)
Downgrading to a previous macOS is a complicated process that requires the complete erase and reinstallation of macOS and your data of which you hopefully have backups.
Replacing your Mac with something else is your business of course but I would recommend you try using Apps and learning to adapt to change.
jurgen972 wrote:
Since macos Tahoe the launchpad is gone which makes OS very unpleasant and unproductive!
Is there a way to go back to macos Sequoia or do I need to find a substitute for my macbook since this makes laptop as good as useless.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Launchpad gone
I would suggest looking at this alternative at the App Srore—
Yeah... I'm not bother by the fact Launchpad as been just deleted, I hate the way this new "App" section is not organizable.
It's just "Random" organized, especially for the third parts apps, and you can't do anything about it...
I've seen somebody find a way to resume the Launchpad from the Terminal but I didn't tried...
I hope they do something about it...
Feeling you hahahah
Launchpad was an important ergonomic advantage for users.
Much easier to use than spotlight search and much more logical to access apps.
One main advantage of macos Launchpad was its intuitive access to anything (for new mac adopters).
The new feature isn't ergonomic neither intuitive.
What's missing in the new app is:
The big problem with Apps is that you can't search for an app without first selecting a category. If I want to open an app that I don't use frequently enough to put in the Dock, I have to either remember which category it is in or search around for it. That's ridiculous! With Launchpad, I could open it and type a few letters and the app would be there.
There is no reason for this limitation. Where can I send a request to Apple to fix this?
I'd add another problem with it: you can't search for an app without first selecting a category. With LaunchPad, I could open it, type a few letters, and the app would be there. All I had to remember was part of the name. Try typing in Apps without selecting a category. Everything disappears! That's ridiculous!! I've sent feedback to Apple about it.
sdorst wrote:
I'd add another problem with it: you can't search for an app without first selecting a category. With LaunchPad, I could open it, type a few letters, and the app would be there. All I had to remember was part of the name. Try typing in Apps without selecting a category. Everything disappears! That's ridiculous!! I've sent feedback to Apple about it.
Your assertion is incorrect. You can search for an app without selecting a category. There is a search input at the very top of the Apps windows. IO just tried it and I can pull up any app by typing part of its name. Please take another look.
Do you seriously think that I would complain that it doesn’t work without having tried it? When I type anything into the search box, without first selecting a category, all of the apps disappear. Apparently, this is not how it’s supposed to work, but I had no way of knowing that until getting your feedback.
I actually assumed that it was a problem with my system, and tried restarting in safe mode, which did not fix the problem. I also reinstalled macOS 26, once again without resolving the problem. I suppose I may need to do a clean installation, but that’s a real pain. I think I will call Apple support first.
The new app function in Tahoe is especially annoying for those that don't know the names of all your apps rendering the new apps function useless to me... forces you to open applications and search if it is not a standard apple app.. unfortunately I had all my apps properly grouped before and now I am searching in a really time consuming way... I don't use spotlight. and should have the option not to. especially if you don't know the names of the apps until you see the icons in front of you...
To folks commenting that Launchpad has been replaced by Apps, can you let me know if
(1) can Apps be set to open with a 5 finger (or other) gesture on the trackpad of a Macbook Pro?
(2) can it be set to open using Hot Corners?
I'm not particularly enthusiastic about Tahoe but the loss of Launchpad in particular has me hesitating to update macOS on the laptop I use every day for the first time in 15 years.
Missing Launchpad in macOS Tahoe
