Apple has introduced a new Apps app in macOS as an alternative to Launchpad. This app provides quick access to a new overview of your applications in Spotlight. You can view this view in several ways.
All apps are sorted based on your preferences, and smart suggestions ensure that you can quickly find the right apps. Additionally, apps are organized into categories for quick access.
Spotlight for Mac
Spotlight is macOS’ built-in search feature that helps you quickly find files, apps, emails, and more on your Mac. You can easily open Spotlight with the keyboard shortcut command⌘ + Spacebar or by clicking on the magnifying glass in the menu bar.
In addition to searching, Spotlight can also perform quick calculations, display definitions, and retrieve information from the Internet. Since macOS Tahoe, you can directly consult your Clipboard history from Spotlight, but before you can use this you must activate the function.
Apps in Spotlight
With macOS 26, Apple has introduced an alternative: a new Apps application. This replaces Launchpad and acts as a shortcut to a new overview of your applications within Spotlight. You can consult this view in different ways.
The easiest way is to click on ‘Apps’ in the Dock (similar to how you found Launchpad). You can immediately open the app overview in Spotlight via this shortcut.
You can also consult ‘Apps’ directly from Spotlight. To do this, click on the magnifying glass in the menu bar or enter the key combination command⌘ + SPACE out. The Apps Browser View (App Store Icon) allows you to view and open all the apps available on your Mac.
Smart display in Spotlight
All apps are smartly sorted based on their relevance to you and the smart suggestions ensure that the right apps are available when you need them. Additionally, apps are sorted into categories for quick access. Finally, you can also immediately search for a desired app and open it.
Unfortunately, unlike Launchpad, you can no longer determine the order of your apps yourself and it is no longer possible to create folders for apps.