macOS Tahoe will launch in the fall of 2025, bringing with it some major UI changes like Liquid Glass and updates to Apple Intelligence. But the introduction of new features often means existing ones get pushed out, and I’m not going to take the loss of Launchpad well.
In general, macOS is not known for offering an abundance of choice, particularly compared to the tinkering potential of a system like Linux. But application launching is an exception. When it comes tostarting an app, there are many options—too many, in my opinion—including:
I left the best to last. Launchpad is unique in that list for one important reason: its entire purpose is app launching. Every other option displays running apps, mixes in files and folders, or offers another world of complexity (hello, Terminal).
Meanwhile, when I pull up Launchpad, I have one thing in mind: launching an app. There’s nothing else to distract me and, over time, this connection has reinforced itself in the opposite direction: when I want to launch an app, I reach for Launchpad.
Like all the other options, Tahoe’s replacement for Launchpad—Applications—does more than just launch apps. Launchpad is focused on one task; it’s even in the name. “Launchpad” tells me so much more than “Dock” and even more than the iOS equivalent, SpringBoard.
I doubt you even knew the name SpringBoard, and that’s for good reason: on iOS, app launching is so accessible and easy to use that you never even really think about it!
Believe it or not, that name has important benefits. Not only is it much easier to remember that “Launchpad” launches apps, but it’s easier to get help on, too.
Apple has a habit of naming things poorly. How many times have you struggled to spell “Sequoia” in a web search? Likewise,the Shortcuts app—one that you might very often need some assistance with—is nearly impossible to search for. The term is just too common and overloaded for other purposes.
Like all good names, Launchpad is much more focused. It’s certainly a lot better than its Tahoe replacement, Applications. I’m already struggling to find out details about this feature online, and the situation’s probably not going to improve unless Apple rethinks that terrible name.
Plus, Launchpad just sounds way cooler than Applications, a reassuring nod to the space-themed past of macOS Leopard and Lion.
More significantly than its name, Launchpad offers better functionality as far as I’m concerned. Its default view shows a whopping 35 apps on one screen, with a fast and easy method of moving to the next page of 35.
In contrast, it looks as though the Applications replacement will show just 15 apps at once, with no obvious way to navigate quickly, one page at a time.
When I’m launching an app, that task occupies my entire focus, so the interface may as well lean into that and take advantage of it. There’s no benefit to showing anything else on screen at the same time, so a full-screen view can only be beneficial.
What’s more, using a third-party app likeTinkerTool, Launchpad can fit a massive 81 apps on screen at once.
It’s unclear whether Apple will allow any customization of Applications or if any third-party tools will be able to offer this functionality. Until then, Launchpad is much easier to tailor to my needs.
What’s even more important to me is that Launchpad lets me organize my apps as I see fit. Applications sorts its apps by name, as the default, and can also filter apps by a small set of seemingly fixed categories. It also groups apps into those same categories.
Combined with the small number of apps shown at one time, this lack of flexibility means the interface relies more on guessing the apps that I want to run, rather than showing me what’s available.
Launchpad was modeled on the aforementioned SpringBoard interface from iOS. We’re all now used to long-pressing icons to move them around and dragging icons on top of each other to create folders. Purposefully choosing icon order helps to reinforce their placement in your memory, which in turn makes it slightly quicker to locate and launch your apps, even if this all happens subconsciously.
Launchpad is so ingrained in my muscle memory that it’s become second nature for me to press F4, then either click a favorite app or start typing to find a more obscure one. I’m sure I’ll get used to Applications—or maybe I’ll even come around to Spotlight—but it’s a shame to wave goodbye to something as simple and effective as Launchpad. I can only hope that Apple considers porting its best bits to Tahoe, especially its customization features.
