Do You Miss LaunchPad in MacOS Tahoe? Using the New LaunchPad, Plus a LaunchPad Alternative

macOS Tahoe 26 adds some new features, but it also has taken a prominent popular feature away on the Mac, and that is the removal of the dedicated LaunchPad app from macOS Tahoe. LaunchPad is the simple app launcher that is kind of iOS-like and has been on the Mac for a longtime, visible in the Dock for quick access to apps, and by keyboard shortcut. It was quite popular, so it makes sense that this change is impacting a fair number of Mac folks.

To be clear, while the LaunchPad app itself is removed from Tahoe, it has actually just been reincorporated into Spotlight, the MacOS Search feature. But it’s not quite the same, either visually or in functionality, and a fair number of Mac users who really liked Launchpad are disappointed by this change.

If you miss LaunchPad in macOS Tahoe, we’re going to offer you two solutions. First, we’ll show you how to use the new LaunchPad interface within Spotlight, and second we’ll introduce you to a free replica app that brings a LaunchPad alternative to macOS Tahoe.

Option 1: Use the New LaunchPad in macOS Tahoe in Spotlight

Using the newly redesigned LaunchPad within Spotlight is an option for many Mac users, and it’s actually pretty simple to use the app launcher.



1. Hit Command+Spacebar to bring up Spotlight, then hit Command+1 within Spotlight to bring up the LaunchPad equivalent app launcher in Spotlight
2. Type the name of the app you want to launch or browse through the app listings or category headers to launch your apps from Spotlight Launchpad

Many macOS Tahoe users will quickly adapt to the new Spotlight Launchpad experience and find that it serves the same functionality they had before. Since may Mac users, myself included, have long used Spotlight as an app launcher anyway, the inclusion of LaunchPad into Spotlight like this makes some degree of sense. But it’s important to remember that many Mac users specifically preferred LaunchPad and liked keeping the app launcher separate and easy, so the merging of it within Spotlight isn’t what they’re looking for. If that’s you, the next solution might be preferable to you.

Option 2: Use Launchie, a Free LaunchPad Replacement for Mac

Launchie is a free app available on Github that aims to replicate the look, feel, and functionality of the original LaunchPad. It’s not a precise replica, but it’ll be close enough for many Tahoe users who miss the old LaunchPad.



• Get Launchie free from Github here (or the app site here)




• Open Launchie and drag it into your Dock on the far left, just like the original LaunchPad
• Access Launchie at any time with the universal keystroke: Command+K (this can be customized if you wish)

(By the way, I’m using the Clear icon appearance in Tahoe which is why the icons are subdued in color, but if you use the default colorful icons they’ll look like your standard MacOS app icons as they did in prior versions of MacOS and Launchpad)

Launchie has many of the original Launchpad features available to it, including the ability to drag and drop to reorder the apps, custom folder options for organizing, and customizable keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys.

Can I restore the old LaunchPad to MacOS Tahoe?

A fair amount of people are wondering if it’s possible to restore the old LaunchPad again in MacOS Tahoe 26, but as of now that does not seem to be possible. If you still have a Mac running Sequoia, you might be able to copy the Launchpad.app into Tahoe and see if it runs for you, but I haven’t tried this directly myself though I will explore this later, and there are not any successful reports online of anyone getting that approach to work. Just assume that you can’t restore the old Launchpad to MacOS Tahoe, and use either the new Launchpad experience, or a third party app like Launchie. If there’s any change to this as an option, we’ll keep you updated.

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macOS Tahoe 26 brings some significant visual changes to the Mac with the introduction of the Liquid Glass interface scheme, along with some new features too, but the removal of LaunchPad has been particularly frustrating for some Mac users. Try out the two solutions above and see which works for you.

What do you think? Do you like the new Launchpad interface within Spotlight on Tahoe, or do you miss and prefer the old classic LaunchPad? Did you find another LaunchPad alternative, or a different approach to using LaunchPad in macOS Tahoe? Are you postponing your upgrade to MacOS Tahoe because of this, or any other reason? Share your experiences, thoughts, and ideas in the comments!