How do I restore the old Launchpad in macOS Tahoe

Me toooooooooo.

As a Chinese user, I don't even know the English names of most Chinese apps I use. Spotlight just doesn't work well with Chinese - searching for apps in Chinese is a real pain.

Here's the problem: I can't search in English because I don't know the app names, and Chinese search doesn't work properly either. Even when it does work, it's way too complicated. I only use about ten apps regularly, all neatly organized in my LaunchPad where I can find them by sight and muscle memory.

The new macOS is making things difficult for me. I'm not a fast typist, and having to constantly switch between Chinese and English for command-line style operations is exhausting. I really wish Apple would bring back the proper LaunchPad.

I’ve been using Macs since 1995, and honestly, I regret updating to macOS Tahoe. All those tips like “drag the Applications folder to the Dock,” “learn Spotlight,” or “install some third-party app” Complete nonsense! Ever since the early OS X days, updates actually made things better in ways that were easy to understand and navigate.

Removing Launchpad is a HUGE mistake. Seriously, couldn’t they at least have left an option in Settings, like “light theme or dark theme”? This update has completely destroyed the organization on my MacBook. I can’t believe Apple did this.

That will be helpful for some, but the beauty of launchpad for those who knew, was assigning it to a hot corner.

Then your most frequently used apps were available with a quick mouse swipe. All in the same place every time. No hunting. No typing. It was brilliant.

Now, if Apple would allow apps to be assigned to a hot corner, an App like launcher would probably work just fine. But they don’t.

Again: The issue is that Apple replaced launchpad, which was very useful. With a useless app searching feature. A weak, dumbed-down version of spotlight. A feature we already had.

I’ll bet heavy spotlight users won’t even use it.

baneyw wrote:

That will be helpful for some, but the beauty of launchpad for those who knew, was assigning it to a hot corner.

Then your most frequently used apps were available with a quick mouse swipe. All in the same place every time. No hunting. No typing. It was brilliant.

Everyone has their preferences. I never used Launchpad. My most frequently used apps are in the Dock. I suspect that moving the pointer down to the desired app and clicking it is quicker than moving the pointer to a corner then back to the app in Launchpad and clicking it. YMMV.

The Apps app itself can be assigned to a hot corner.

neuroanatomist wrote:

Everyone has their preferences. I never used Launchpad. My most frequently used apps are in the Dock. I suspect that moving the pointer down to the desired app and clicking it is quicker than moving the pointer to a corner then back to the app in Launchpad and clicking it. YMMV.

+1 I never use Launch Pad on my Mac's and keep my Dock on the left side of main screen for quick access.

We all know we can assign the new apps app to a hot corner. It isn’t launch pad and doesn’t function like it. That’s the whole point of this discussion.

we can also tell you didn’t use it, because if you had, you wouldn’t have suggested that.

I also shouldn’t have to specify: “My most frequently used apps that aren’t on the dock already.” Duh.

Oh and it’s not much faster, if any…because launch pad “launched” instantaneously. It was like adding infinite dock space. With subfolders.

The new way sucks in comparison— for anyone who had already learned the easiest way to navigate their apps on macOS. Which was a hugely popular tip. I learned it when I bought my first MacBook in 2011.

Fair points (except the one about 'we all know' since that's a big assumption and already disproven by other questions on this forum). All your points are irrelevant, because at the end of the day it's Apple's decision. They own macOS and allow you to use it subject to the terms of the license that you agreed to. You can provide feedback to Apple, which they may or may not do anything about. Complain about it here is like yelling it out in an empty room – no one who might care is listening.

Feedback - macOS - Apple

I tried reading this heated debate.. but it seems it comes down to preference.

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?

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.

Yes, you're right that this is a workaround. But you have to admit it's clunkier.

and may I posit to you:

"Hi, yes, mom, so, an alias is kind of like a... yes, no I know it used to be just the finger pinch and then the top right icon. No.. no that just isn't there anymore. No, also the folders we set up last time that we decorated with emojis for your cooking and writing apps we made together, those are gone. Uh... well, because Apple doesn't know the basic fundamental UX heuristic called "don't destroy user investment," where you refrain from literally deleting things like layouts and folder names that users created. Now go to the finder and make a new folder. Yes, exactly. Now—your shows? AppleTV, the—what do you mean it's purple? You mean podcasts? The i with circles? That's podcasts, you mean radio shows? Yep, exactly, this one is alphabetic so under P. Two finger tap on it....."

For LaunchPad users, this update is like if tomorrow iOS trashed your layout of apps and custom-named folders, and replaced it with the App Library with immovable auto-assigned categories. It is quite literally a deletion of user-created content, which is a giant UX no-no. I get that that's not your fault, and yes, I have submitted feedback. But yeah.. people are gonna be mad at this and I think it's legit.

iMoock wrote:

I’ve been using Macs since 1995, and honestly, I regret updating to macOS Tahoe. All those tips like “drag the Applications folder to the Dock,” “learn Spotlight,” or “install some third-party app” Complete nonsense! Ever since the early OS X days, updates actually made things better in ways that were easy to understand and navigate.

I've been using Apple computers since before Macs. I'm not sure why how long we've been using the company's products is relevant to the discussion, though.

Removing Launchpad is a HUGE mistake. Seriously, couldn’t they at least have left an option in Settings, like “light theme or dark theme”? This update has completely destroyed the organization on my MacBook. I can’t believe Apple did this.

Despite the lively threads on the topic here in these forums, I still think that most people don't care.

Having used Apple products for as long as you have, I'm surprised that you're surprised. Apple makes changes that some people hate at least a couple of times a year. It's possible that the changes they've made that bother other people don't bother you. Or, that you've forgotten ones that did because you got used to the change.

wiggle321 wrote:

Yes, you're right that this is a workaround. But you have to admit it's clunkier.

No, really, I don't have to admit any such thing. What I will say is both LaunchPad and the current Apps feature are completely useless to me.

For LaunchPad users, this update is like if tomorrow iOS trashed your layout of apps and custom-named folders, and replaced it with the App Library with immovable auto-assigned categories.

I don't have a "layout of apps." All of my apps reside in the Application folder. The only subfolders I have in Applications are ones that some installers created. If I even open Applications once a month, that's a lot.

But yeah.. people are gonna be mad at this and I think it's legit.

I never said people's dislike of the new feature was wrong. What I have commented on is the idea that LaunchPad is objectively better than other options. If Apple removed Spotlight, I'd be devasted. At least until I got used to whatever replaced it.

dialabrain wrote:

I admire your sticktoitiveness. :) I unsubscribed from all "Launchpad" threads long ago.

And my mother always said I lacked sticktoitiveness, using that very word. Perhaps this represents a character improvement.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

If Apple removed Spotlight, I'd be devasted. At least until I got used to whatever replaced it.

Conversely, I use Spotlight maybe once a year. If that. Honestly, I've pressed opened Spotlight while writing responses to threads here since Tahoe came out probably 20-fold more times than in my entire time using Macs. If Apple removed Spotlight, I probably wouldn't notice (ASC complaints notwithstanding).

neuroanatomist wrote:

Conversely, I use Spotlight maybe once a year. If that. Honestly, I've pressed opened Spotlight while writing responses to threads here since Tahoe came out probably 20-fold more times than in my entire time using Macs. If Apple removed Spotlight, I probably wouldn't notice (ASC complaints notwithstanding).

It's all about personal preference! (You would hear me sobbing in the corner, though.)

No, really, I don't have to admit any such thing. What I will say is both LaunchPad and the current Apps feature are completely useless to me.

Weird hill to die on, to claim that this:

trackpad gesture + move cursor to target, central large icon + 1 tap

is not any simpler than:

move cursor to a small icon on the edge, 1 tap, then move cursor again, 2nd tap on the app you want. Which also cannot be repositioned and will always have the little alias arrows.

Unless there's some tricks I don't know about, that does seem actually clunkier, requires more fine motor control, does not have a gesture or hot corner.

What I will say is both LaunchPad and the current Apps feature are completely useless to me.

And spotlight is useless to me I literally turned off the shortcut first thing. But that's completely irrelevant. They could remove spotlight and I wouldn't notice cos I almost never touch it. But that would be a weird and childish thing for me to say if spotlight was taken away and folks were upset that their workflows were gone, right? My not using it doesn't mean it isn't central in other people's workflows. My not using it wouldn't prove anything.

I don't have a "layout of apps." All of my apps reside in the Application folder. The only subfolders I have in Applications are ones that some installers created. If I even open Applications once a month, that's a lot.

I said on iOS, on your phone. That's how people use/d launchpad. It's near identical how iOS (pre-widget iOS, that is). You drag the apps into the order you want, there's pages you swipe between, you create named folders.

I never said people's dislike of the new feature was wrong. What I have commented on is the idea that LaunchPad is objectively better than other options.

Yep I agree that it's not objectively better than any other workflow someone uses. But you also wont even admit that it's better than a workaround alias folder, so here we are.

If Apple removed Spotlight, I'd be devasted. At least until I got used to whatever replaced it.

so then you understand why people who barely touch spotlight and used this every day might also be devastated, right? Cos you understand that it's not at all about objectivity (I wholly agree with you there) but about what people's preferred method was. For the individual, that IS what was best for them.

A UI should be diverse, with several paths to fundamental actions because it is simply not possible to make one objectively best. The big icons are good for the visually impaired. And for people who think more in visuals (ie they remember an app by the icon or where they placed it or by themed grouping more than by name), or whose use is more trackpad-heavy. Or who are disabled and struggle with the keyboard. Or who dislike a cluttered dock and do not keep anything pinned so Launchpad was a good 'frequently used' place. For those uses, it could be 'objectively' (in quote marks, because it's for their individual use, which.. the word for that is subjective) better.

Equally, lots of reasons could be given for spotlight being 'superior' for others. Not having to leave the keyboard, for starters. I'm sure there's more tho since I don't use it idk, but there's likely unique workflows that couldn't easily be replaced. Tho actually, I'm curious what those are, what am I missing out on just using regular old finder search?