Apple final month introduced macOS 26 Tahoe, the subsequent main replace to the Mac working system. Whereas it comes with numerous new options, together with the Liquid Glass interface, Stay 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 if you happen to’re like me and miss Launchpad, there’s a solution to deliver it again.
For these unfamiliar, Launchpad on the Mac is basically a “house display” 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 deliver extra of the iPad expertise to the Mac.
Whereas some customers by no means obtained used to having Launchpad on their Mac, I at all times appreciated having a solution 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 it’s essential 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
Methods to deliver Launchpad again in macOS 26
Fortunately, there’s a solution to reverse this, not less than for now. In the event you’re operating the macOS 26 beta in your Mac and wish Launchpad again, simply observe these steps. A phrase of warning: Messing with instructions in Terminal, particularly the sudo (superuser do) command, just isn’t 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 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 be capable of use Launchpad once more in macOS 26 beta. Nonetheless, this command additionally brings again the previous Highlight expertise with out the enhancements launched with macOS 26, reminiscent of 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
Understand that whereas this trick works on macOS 26 beta 3, Apple may break it in future variations of macOS. macOS 26 can be launched to the general public this fall. A public beta is anticipated to be obtainable within the subsequent few days.