How do I restore the old Launchpad in macOS Tahoe

Fair enough.

Launchpad was the most advanced way to single handedly open an app. Periodt. They killed it so they could try to sell more Vision Pros

There are people who use a stylus (aka Spotlight) and those who do not (Launchpad).Unfortunately, the stylus people are in charge now.

Anthony Sbarro wrote:

It's entirely illogical to remove the most efficient method of launching an application (while hiding others). Now, when I go to open the LaunchPad replacement, I'm seeing literally every app installed on the computer. There needs to be a way to curate the apps to efficiently launch them with muscle memory.

Respectfully

What is more logical that organizing Applications by Categories

Picking up on an earlier posting

It would be illogical to believe that Apple would not make changes to a new version of macOS like Tahoe

Apple is often know to do what Apple believes is best for Apple

It has functioned that ways for decades and do not see this changing anytime soon

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?

Apple's categories are often inaccurate and grossly reduce efficiency. This adds additional mental requirements (and time) to understand what category Apple has chosen to place an application.

Example: I should get to decide if an app is either Productivity or Finance.

On my computer, Apple has decided to put Firefox in Productivity & Finance and Safari in Utilities and Edge and Brave in Other. I would put them in a folder called Browsers.

This interface also seems to sort categories and applications randomly and dynamically. You have Utilities first while I have Productivity & Finance. This interrupts the ability to quickly access something because you need to scan the UI to find where the category and application has moved to. It's also not a wide enough interface to see all the categories so you need to swipe over to see more.

LaunchPad is user customizable. I can place an application where I want it based on my priorities and usage so it's easier (or harder) to access using muscle memory - this is apparently good enough for a mobile operating system but no longer for the desktop. I don't have to think about launching apps. I have the bottom left corner as a hot spot to launch LaunchPad - I have primary apps in the root of this UI and I have category folders to organize things like Music, Games, Utilities, etc. And these 'bins' are organized in a method that makes sense to me so I can literally open any app on my computer with a single finger using (at most) a couple swipes and clicks without even having to remember the name of the app. I genuinely don't know the names of a lot of apps but I know that the one I want to use to change the name of a music track is in my Music folder and it's on the bottom.

What is illogical is that they have - for no apparent logical reason - removed a method of launching applications that is nearly identical to how you launch apps on billions of mobile devices while forcing users to use an existing command-line like method that (I'd argue) most people find inefficient.

They have changed things in the past. Not many. If the voices are loud enough, perhaps they'll simply reenable a small and important thing that worked perfectly fine without any drawbacks for a decade.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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]

In my opinion, this is most likely a marketing and financial decision from Apple.

1. Removing a heavily used feature is an efficient way to push users toward another one.

I think the majority of Mac users rely on Launchpad, and fewer use Spotlight.

By removing Launchpad, users are essentially forced to switch to Spotlight.

2. It’s also an effective way to showcase “changes” in a new OS release.

As a user, I just want a consistent experience, but Apple needs to ship a major upgrade every year.

If they changed nothing, people would question the value of the upgrade, so they must introduce changes — even when some of them feel unnecessary.

3. From a financial perspective, this also makes sense.

First, they no longer need to maintain Launchpad, which reduces cost.

Second, many users would turn to third-party Launchpad alternatives.

That means more Launchpad-like apps sold through the App Store — which increases Apple’s commission.

----------------------------------------------------------------

In my daily usage, I like both Launchpad and Spotlight. They’re both essential to me on macOS.

I use the Dock for the most frequently used apps, Launchpad for less frequent apps arranged into folders and pages, and Spotlight for file search.

Launchpad only requires the trackpad and one hand. It’s intuitive — I can instantly locate the app I need because my brain uses visual and spatial memory to remember where each icon is, especially the ones pinned on the first page.

Spotlight requires the keyboard, and you must remember and type the app’s name before scanning the results. That can take longer. I only use Spotlight when I can’t find an app in Launchpad.

Additionaly, I don’t think Launchpad’s removal is caused by any technical limitation.

It’s simply Apple pushing users toward what they want you to use — which has always been their style.

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

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