Missing Launchpad in MacOS 26? Here's How to Bring It Back

2 hours ago7 min read1 comments

So, Apple has quietly retired the Mac's Launchpad, that handy feature that displayed all your apps in a neat, iOS-like grid and let you quickly pick the one you wanted to open. It’s the kind of move that makes you stop and wonder about the larger philosophy at play here, a bit like when Wikipedia decides to overhaul its entire interface and a million casual users suddenly feel a little bit lost.The Launchpad was always a bit of an odd duck in the macOS ecosystem, a clear import from the mobile world that never quite felt native to the desktop’s power-user ethos, yet it served a crucial purpose for those of us who aren't keyboard shortcut wizards or who simply prefer a visual overview of our digital toolkit. Its removal in MacOS 26 isn't just a minor feature deprecation; it's a statement, a deliberate step back from the years-long effort to unify the Apple experience across all devices, and it raises fascinating questions about where the line between simplicity and power truly lies.You can, of course, recreate this app launcher functionality, and that’s where the real exploration begins—it’s a classic case of the platform giveth, and the platform taketh away, forcing the user to become an active participant in shaping their own computing environment again. For the uninitiated, the void left by Launchpad can be filled beautifully by the built-in Spotlight search; just hit Command+Space and start typing an app’s name, and it’s not only faster but often smarter, pulling up documents, calendar events, and web results alongside your applications.Then there’s the venerable Applications folder in the Finder, a straightforward, if less glamorous, file-system-based approach that hearkens back to the very origins of the Macintosh, or you can drag your most-used apps to the Dock for permanent, instant access. For those willing to venture further, third-party launchers like Alfred or Raycast represent a massive upgrade, transforming a simple app launcher into a full-blown command center for your Mac, capable of executing complex workflows, calculating equations, and controlling system functions—they are to Launchpad what a modern smartphone is to a rotary-dial telephone.This shift away from a dedicated launcher feels indicative of a broader trend in software design: the move away from one-size-fits-all solutions and towards customizable, powerful interfaces that reward proficiency and learning. It’s a small change on the surface, but it speaks volumes about Apple’s confidence in its core user base and its vision for the Mac as a professional tool, even as it risks alienating the crossover users who found comfort in its iOS-like simplicity. The conversation this sparks online, in forums and on social media, is a microcosm of the eternal debate in tech: progress versus familiarity, and who ultimately gets to decide what the 'best' way to use a computer really is.

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#macOS

#Launchpad

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