How do I restore the old Launchpad in macOS Tahoe

On the next release, can Apple give us the option for the older launchpad? The one in Tahoe is a just a massive web of icons, hard to find what I'm looking for

Hugh Kremer wrote:

You have decided that it is strictly a technical forum: Your opinion of how it should work is completely irrelevant.

Apple decided that.

Community etiquette guidelines

pfft - of course apple says that, why would they want people complaining about their products

You're free to whine all you want. Just do it somewhere else.

I love this thread! Did Apple say when Launchpad was going to be reintroduced?

You should never have to get an app to do what the previous version of Mac OS did natively!

CussinSailor wrote:

You should never have to get an app to do what the previous version of Mac OS did natively!

Have you made that feedback to Apple?

Product Feedback - Apple

CussinSailor wrote:

You should never have to get an app to do what the previous version of Mac OS did natively!

We can live in Olden Days

And like the dinosaurs, perish

Or we can adapt and move on

Owl-53 wrote:

We can live in Olden Days

And like the dinosaurs, perish

Or we can adapt and move on

You kids, always telling the old folks to adapt! /sarc

Owl-53 wrote:

Age brings wisdom; wisdom brings the courage to question what we think we know.

I like that! You are indeed wise, my friend.

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?

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.