Apple final month introduced macOS 26 Tahoe, the following main replace to the Mac working system. Whereas it comes with quite a lot of new options, together with the Liquid Glass interface, Dwell Actions, and a strong new Highlight, the replace additionally killed off a characteristic that has lived on the Mac for over a decade.
With macOS 26, Apple changed Launchpad with a brand new app launcher built-in with Highlight. However in the event you’re like me and miss Launchpad, there’s a solution to carry it again.
For these unfamiliar, Launchpad on the Mac is basically a “dwelling display screen” that exhibits all of the apps you could have put in, similar to on the iPhone and iPad. It was launched with OS X Lion in 2010 at a time when Apple needed to carry extra of the iPad expertise to the Mac.
Whereas some customers by no means acquired used to having Launchpad on their Mac, I at all times preferred having a solution to arrange my apps the best way I needed. As an illustration, Launchpad lets me create a number of pages and place apps in folders, so I don’t want to recollect the identify of an app I hardly ever use; I simply want to recollect the place it’s in Launchpad.
However macOS 26 has modified that, because the checklist of apps is now built-in into Highlight, so you should seek for every part. Whereas the brand new interface is actually extra minimalist, it doesn’t let customers arrange apps the best way they need.
The brand new Highlight is so highly effective that it replaces Launchpad in your Mac.
Apple
Find out how to carry Launchpad again in macOS 26
Fortunately, there’s a solution to reverse this, no less than for now. Should you’re working the macOS 26 beta in your Mac and wish Launchpad again, simply comply with these steps. A phrase of warning: Messing with instructions in Terminal, particularly the sudo (superuser do) command, shouldn’t be one thing informal customers ought to do, because it might trigger points to your machine and require a reinstallation of the OS. And we suggest backing up your information earlier than putting in a beta for a similar cause.
- Open the Terminal app inside Functions > Utilities.
- Write the next command and hit Return: sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Area
- Enter your Mac’s password and press Return (you should be logged into an admin account)
- Write the next command and hit Return: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Area/SpotlightUI.plist SpotlightPlus -dict Enabled -bool false
- Reboot your Mac
When you’ve finished that, you’ll have the ability to use Launchpad once more in macOS 26 beta. Nevertheless, this command additionally brings again the outdated Highlight expertise with out the enhancements launched with macOS 26, equivalent to clipboard historical past and integration with the Shortcuts app.
If you wish to revert to the brand new Highlight (and consequently disable Launchpad), redo all the identical steps above however enter the next command as a substitute:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Area/SpotlightUI.plist SpotlightPlus -dict Enabled -bool true
Needless to say whereas this trick works on macOS 26 beta 3, Apple may break it in future variations of macOS. macOS 26 might be launched to the general public this fall. A public beta is predicted to be obtainable within the subsequent few days.
