Apps icon in the Dock
Click the new Apps icon in the Dock — it sits in the same spot the Launchpad icon used to occupy.
macOS Tahoe removed Launchpad.
After 14 years, Apple retired Launchpad in macOS Tahoe (macOS 26) and replaced it with the Spotlight Applications view and an Apps icon in the Dock. The full-screen, customizable app grid — with your folders and pages — is gone. If you want that workflow back, Facet restores it.
What actually changed in macOS Tahoe.
Launchpad first shipped with OS X Lion in 2011 and stayed in macOS for 14 years. In macOS Tahoe (macOS 26), announced at WWDC in June 2025 and released in September 2025, Apple removed it entirely — there is no Launchpad in the Dock and no Launchpad feature in the system. Apple’s own macOS Tahoe support pages no longer mention Launchpad at all.
In its place, Spotlight received its biggest update ever. The apps that used to live in Launchpad now appear in a Spotlight Applications browse mode, also opened from a new Apps icon that sits where Launchpad’s icon used to be in the Dock.
Launchpad vs the new Apps view.
| Capability | Old Launchpad | Tahoe Apps view |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Full-screen paged grid | Floating window, alphabetical list |
| Custom folders | Yes | No — auto categories only |
| Custom pages & order | Yes, drag to arrange | No manual reordering |
| Remembers your layout | Yes | No |
| Window size | Full screen | Small floating panel |
| Opens with | Gesture / hotkey / Dock | Dock, Spotlight, gesture |
The short version: the new view is a search-first list, not a browse-first grid. You lose spatial memory — the years of muscle memory built from pages like “Work,” “Creative,” or “Utilities” — and you can’t rebuild it, because there are no custom folders or pages.
Native ways to open apps now.
Spotlight + ⌘1
Press ⌘ Space to open Spotlight, then ⌘1 to switch to the Applications browse mode.
Trackpad gesture
The four-finger pinch-inward gesture that used to open Launchpad now opens the Apps view instead.
Applications folder
In Finder, press ⇧⌘A to open the Applications folder, or drag it to the Dock to keep a grid stack.
None of these restore custom folders, pages, or a saved layout. They are the built-in options Apple provides in macOS Tahoe.
Can you bring the old Launchpad back?
Not officially. During the early Tahoe betas a sudo Terminal command could temporarily re-enable Launchpad, but Apple closed that loophole — in the final release the same steps break Spotlight and the Apps view instead of restoring Launchpad. There is no supported setting to turn the old grid back on.
If you want the real Launchpad experience — a full grid you can organize, with folders and a layout that stays put — the practical path is a dedicated launcher app. That is exactly what Facet is built for.
What Facet restores on macOS Tahoe.
A real app grid
Browse installed apps in a clean, full grid you can actually scan — not a search box you have to type into first.
Folders & layout
Group apps into folders and keep a layout that stays put. Import your existing Launchpad layout so you don’t start from scratch.
Keyboard search
Search and launch from the keyboard when you already know the app — without giving up visual browsing.
Facet is a $14.99 one-time purchase for macOS 14.0 and later, Developer ID signed and Apple-notarized. No subscription, no telemetry-based growth loops.
Related guides.
Get Launchpad back
Where is Launchpad?
Launchpad replacement
Launchpad alternative
Compare launchers
Sources: Apple Newsroom (macOS Tahoe 26, June 2025); Apple “New features available with macOS Tahoe” (Sept 2025); Apple Support — Browse Modes in Spotlight; MacRumors, Macworld, and 9to5Mac coverage of Launchpad’s removal (2025).