Where is Launchpad on a Mac? How to open your apps in macOS 27

howtosimply.com/guides/where-is-launchpad-on-a-mac-macos-27/ · Checked October 2026 · MacBook Neo · macOS 27.0.1

4 of 4 steps with real screenshots · 2 official sources below

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)

App

Dock

Path

Dock › Apps

Real screenshots

4 of 4 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Find Apps in the Dock

   The grid icon where Launchpad used to sit is now called Apps. Click it. Control-click it and the menu offers only Remove from Dock and Show Apps.

   Done

2. 

   Pick a category

   The Applications window opens with a row of categories: Utilities, Productivity & Finance, Entertainment, Information & Reading, Creativity, Social and Other. Click one to narrow the list; click an app to open it.

   Done

3. 

   Switch between Grid and List

   Click the three dots at the top right. View content as offers Grid (ticked on ours) and List.

   Done

4. 

   Or use Spotlight: Command-1

   Press Command-Space to open Spotlight, then Command-1 for Applications. The first time, ours showed this panel: Command-2 is Files, Command-3 Actions, Command-4 Clipboard.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• No Apps icon in the Dock? It may have been removed from the Dock. Apple says you can also open Spotlight from the menu bar and choose the Applications icon. Source: View and open apps on Mac
• Looking for your Launchpad folders? The Apps window groups apps into the categories in step 2 rather than your own folders. Apple says the Applications folder in Finder still lists every app: Finder, Applications in the sidebar. Source: Open apps on Mac

If this does not work

• An app is not in the list? Apple says to open it from the Applications folder in Finder, or type its name in Spotlight and press Return. Source: Open apps on Mac
• Spotlight opened but you want to close it? Apple says to press Esc to close Spotlight without opening an app. Source: View and open apps on Mac

About this guide

Launchpad, with its full-screen pages and folders, is gone. In its place is an Apps window that sorts apps into categories by itself.

The screenshots are from our MacBook Neo with macOS 27.0.1 in dark mode, taken on 25 October 2026.

Good to know

Tidy the Dock too: how to remove recent apps from the Dock on a Mac.

In short: Apps in the Dock (the old Launchpad spot), a category, the three dots for Grid or List. Or Command-Space, then Command-1.

📷 Camera Lab: the same 6 scenes photographed with 11 phones, side by side.