A LaunchNext Alternative that isn't a grid
Apple dropped Launchpad in macOS 26 Tahoe, and LaunchNext is the most popular free fix: a GPL-3.0 rebuild of the full-screen grid with one-click import of your old Launchpad layout, folders, custom icon sizes, fuzzy search, hot corners and multi-display support. It needs macOS 26. Notchy's launcher wheel, new in 1.0.178, takes a different approach — a ring of your favourite apps under the notch, one shortcut away.
Looking for LaunchNext itself? It lives on GitHub as RoversX/LaunchNext.
- LaunchNext price
- Free
- LaunchNext requires
- macOS 26 Tahoe or later
- Notchy price
- $24.99 one-time, 7-day free trial
Why use Notchy instead of LaunchNext?
- A ring, not a screen
Press ⌃⌥L and your pinned apps fan out in a circle below the notch. Point, click, gone — nothing covers your whole screen.
- Keyboard all the way
Arrow keys or Tab move around the ring, Return opens, a number key jumps straight to that slot, Escape closes.
- Favourites or what's running
Switch the wheel between the apps you pinned in Notchy's Launcher tab and the apps already open.
- Where LaunchNext is better
It's a real Launchpad: every app, folders, your imported layout and hot corners. Notchy's wheel shows a handful of apps and has no folders.
Everything Notchy does, in one app
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
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- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Custom islands through the local developer API (off by default)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 134 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple silicon
The honest verdict on LaunchNext
Missing Launchpad itself? LaunchNext is the faithful, free rebuild. Missing a fast way to open the same few apps? Notchy's wheel is quicker than any grid.
LaunchNext alternative — FAQ
Did macOS Tahoe remove Launchpad?
Yes. macOS 26 Tahoe replaced Launchpad with a new Apps view, which is why grid launchers like LaunchNext appeared.
Is LaunchNext free?
Yes — free and open source under GPL-3.0, installable from GitHub or Homebrew. Releases since 2.4.2 are notarised.
Does Notchy's wheel work on older macOS?
Yes. Notchy runs on macOS 13 Ventura or later; LaunchNext needs macOS 26.
Can I change the ⌃⌥L shortcut?
Yes, in Notchy's shortcut settings.
Can I use both?
Sure — LaunchNext for browsing everything, the wheel for the six apps you open fifty times a day.