Apple final month introduced macOS 26 Tahoe, the subsequent main replace to the Mac working system. Whereas it comes with loads of new options, together with the Liquid Glass interface, Reside Actions, and a strong new Highlight, the replace additionally killed off a function 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 if you happen to’re like me and miss Launchpad, there’s a solution to convey it again.
For these unfamiliar, Launchpad on the Mac is actually a “house display screen” that reveals 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 wished to convey extra of the iPad expertise to the Mac.
Whereas some customers by no means acquired used to having Launchpad on their Mac, I all the time preferred having a solution to arrange my apps the way in which I wished. As an illustration, Launchpad lets me create a number of pages and place apps in folders, so I don’t want to recollect the title 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 listing of apps is now built-in into Highlight, so it is advisable to seek for the whole lot. Whereas the brand new interface is actually extra minimalist, it doesn’t let customers arrange apps the way in which they need.
The brand new Highlight is so highly effective that it replaces Launchpad in your Mac.
Apple
The best way to convey Launchpad again in macOS 26
Fortunately, there’s a solution to reverse this, not less than for now. In case you’re working the macOS 26 beta in your Mac and need Launchpad again, simply comply with these steps. A phrase of warning: Messing with instructions in Terminal, particularly the sudo (superuser do) command, is just not 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 recordsdata earlier than putting in a beta for a similar motive.
- Open the Terminal app inside Purposes > 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 accomplished that, you’ll be capable of use Launchpad once more in macOS 26 beta. Nevertheless, this command additionally brings again the previous 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 an alternative:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Area/SpotlightUI.plist SpotlightPlus -dict Enabled -bool true
Remember the fact that whereas this trick works on macOS 26 beta 3, Apple would possibly break it in future variations of macOS. macOS 26 shall be launched to the general public this fall. A public beta is anticipated to be obtainable within the subsequent few days.
