AppHub: a cheaper LaunchOS alternative for a Launchpad alternative

Problem: In macOS 27 beta 2, all remnants of Launchpad are gone. Apple will not bring it back, preferring to pretend everyone loves ChatGPT-style Spotlight with a primitive app launcher shoehorned into it. If you "have never used Launchpad", PLEASE move along, this is not the post for you. For those who prefer rational arguments, here's what we lost last year with macOS "Dyehoe" killing a simple-to-use app launcher: No custom app organization No user-created folders No drag-and-drop customization No visual app management Forced categorical grouping I don't want to add all the apps I need to my Dock. I don't want to type in Spotlight every time I need to open something not in my Dock. macOS is not ChatGPT, and for me it is far easier to see all the apps I need at a glance – after a simple mouse movement or trackpad gesture. No, not because I like a "stupid childish iPad layout"; it is actually easier to focus on things I need to do when I open all my 'top tools' on one page in fullscreen. That's hard to explain. Again, if Launchpad is what you hate most in your life, that's fine. I believe hundreds of thousands of people used Launchpad countless times per day to visually organize and quickly launch the apps they needed. Starting with macOS Big Turd Sur, Apple designers/developers have been destroying the system's beautiful UI, adding low-effort features and "fixing" what worked well. With macOS 26, I said no more, and so in September I made a pixel-perfect Launchpad replica (check the video to see the comparison). Wasn't sure whether I should post about this my app again – given all the Launchpad hate – but here we go. But enough of my motivation, let's talk about the most interesting part. ⠀ Comparison. As you all know, LaunchOS is "number one Launchpad alternative". It's very smooth and fast, that is true. Developed by a chinese studio, I believe it was a complex and painstaking process to make it with the efficient, time-tested AppKit, instead of a joke that is SwiftUI. On the contrary, I'm just a solo developer in Kyiv. Still, I have some "cards": ⠀ Support of existing LaunchOS functionality: Launchpad import, "Quick Right-Click Menu", global hotkey, hot corners, dragging apps to the Dock, trackpad gestures, apps renaming, apps uninstall, custom program icon, etc. Naturally, my app supports all of that – most of it was added before LaunchOS even existed. I assume I "inspired" them to add many things. The functionality that LaunchOS promised but never delivered: compact mode (they call it "window browsing mode"). My app supports it since v1.0 (in a desperate attempt to please App Store censors, so thanks Apple), and I actually like it more than fullscreen mode sometimes. There are also many specific features the user base has requested (more on that below). Price. The free version of LaunchOS lacks some key features; it's a paid app after all. I can't compete with the chinese studio, my knowledge is limited, and the app has drawbacks. Therefore, AppHub price will always be half of LaunchOS price, at any time. ⠀ ⠀ ********* Pricing. AppHub current price is $2.99 (One-time purchase). If LaunchOS goes down (currently $6.60 in the US), I go down. Link: https://bringbacklaunchpad.com/apphub.html Launchpad alternatives boom is far behind, but I still believe AppHub can be as useful as my hot corners app, hence the same price. A trial is available as well. ********* ⠀ Now, speaking of drawbacks. My app currently has an experimental support of 120 Hz refresh rate, so that may affect performance on MacBook Pro. Based on user feedback, switching from ProMotion to 60 Hz and back fixes the problems with smoothness. I have some ideas why this happens, will need to investigate further. On other Macs, such as MacBook Air or Mac mini with a 60 Hz display connected, everything always worked perfectly fine. Maybe this is the reason most of my users are Mac mini / Studio users, hence AppHub has great multi-display support with optimizations specifically for that. ⠀ This is what AppHub is all about: • To look as close to Launchpad as possible. No "vertical scroll". On different monitors layout is different, therefore there are options to additionally customize layout to make it 100% Launchpad-like, as well as background style (the result is in the video). I once spent several days replicating exactly how the caret in Launchpad search box behaves in different cases (please don’t laugh) ⠀ • Option for anything. Most of my users are from Germany, and they love Einstellungen :) If it is a trackpad gesture, then you should be able to choose whether to require 5 fingers or 4 fingers; if it's a Force Touch action or the apps list in the menu bar, then it should be customizable; if it's the AppHub icon, then there should be 22 different variations, etc. Although much more complex than I initially wanted, this was fun to develop ⠀ • Peace of mind. Proper keyboard support when you want to touch it. Smooth animation of notification badges. There's also an automatic layout backup feature so that you always have a recent copy of your carefully crafted grid – even if you don’t do backups / don't even know they exist ⠀ ********* Requirements: macOS 15.0 or newer (it's great to preview the experience compared to Launchpad before installing macOS 26/27) I don't expect AppHub to beat LaunchOS, but maybe there's still an audience that hasn't decided what to choose.