Apple final month introduced macOS 26 Tahoe, the following main replace to the Mac working system. Whereas it comes with a whole 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 strategy to carry it again.
For these unfamiliar, Launchpad on the Mac is basically a “house display screen” that reveals all of the apps you may 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 obtained used to having Launchpad on their Mac, I all the time appreciated having a strategy to arrange my apps the best way I needed. As an example, 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 not often 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 might want to seek for the whole lot. Whereas the brand new interface is definitely 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
Easy methods to carry Launchpad again in macOS 26
Fortunately, there’s a strategy to reverse this, no less than for now. When 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 may 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 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 have to 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 to 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, akin 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
Take into account that 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 anticipated to be accessible within the subsequent few days.