Six months ago Apple removed Launchpad from macOS Tahoe. I built AppGrid — a grid-based app launcher — to fill the gap. It got traction quickly, hit the top of the Mac App Store in its category, and a couple of thousands of people bought it.
About three months in, Apple blocked all further updates. The reason: AppGrid looks too similar to Launchpad – the feature they had just removed from the OS.
I appealed several times. The response was always the same: the app violates guideline 4.1, which prohibits apps that duplicate built-in functionality. I kept pointing out that Launchpad no longer exists. It didn’t matter. The reviewers were applying a rule written for living features to a dead one.
The strangest part isn’t the rejection — it’s what followed. Apple didn’t pull the app. They left it on the store, still selling, and continued collecting their 15% cut on every new purchase. The app is frozen in place, generating revenue for both of us, with no way for me to fix bugs or ship improvements. A zombie listing.
They told me they’d approve updates if I redesigned the app to look sufficiently different from Launchpad. But thousands of people paid for it specifically because it looks and works like Launchpad. Redesigning it to satisfy a guideline about a discontinued feature would have meant breaking the product everyone actually bought.
So I stopped appealing and built a direct distribution version instead.
AppGrid is available as a direct download — no App Store, no sandbox limits.
What going direct unlocked
The App Store version runs in a sandbox. That’s fine for most things, but it meant some of the most-requested features were simply off the table:
- Hot corner activation — move your cursor to a corner to summon the grid. The single most requested feature from former Launchpad users, impossible in a sandboxed app.
- Pinch gesture — 3- or 4-finger pinch to open, just like Launchpad had. Also sandbox-blocked.
- Live grid updates — filesystem watchers that detect newly installed or removed apps and update the grid instantly. The sandboxed version requires a polling mechanism.
These are the things people actually wanted. Going direct meant I could finally ship them.
The distribution setup is straightforward: Sparkle for updates, Developer ID signing, Apple notarization. Gatekeeper recognizes it as safe. Users who had bought Pro on the App Store can migrate their license at no cost using their RevenueCat customer ID, takes about two minutes.
What happened when the story got out
I wrote about the situation on the AppGrid site last week. Michael Tsai picked it up, then 9to5Mac, then Macworld. I wasn’t really expecting that. It was meant to be an explanation for existing users more than anything else.
The traffic spike was real: the site went from ~70 visitors/day to 1,655 on March 26th, with 349 download clicks that day. 509 new users opened the app. By today it’s settling back toward baseline.
In the 5 days since: ~610 new installs, 98 direct purchases, 31 App Store migrations to the direct version.
What I’d do differently
I’d have launched direct from day one alongside the App Store version. The sandbox limitations weren’t theoretical. Hot corners and pinch gestures were on the roadmap before I even submitted. I knew they wouldn’t be possible in the sandboxed version. I submitted anyway because the App Store felt like the safe, legitimate path. It was, until it wasn’t.
The review process isn’t the problem per se. The problem is there’s no real appeals path when enforcement goes sideways. You can respond to rejections, but there’s no escalation, no human who has the authority to say “yes, this rule doesn’t apply here.” You’re just frozen until you give up or comply.
Direct distribution exists. It works. For some apps, in some situations, it’s the better answer.
If you’re looking for a Launchpad replacement for macOS Tahoe, see how to get Launchpad back on macOS Tahoe — or read more about what changed when Apple removed Launchpad.
AppGrid direct download: https://appgridmac.com/direct
If you bought on the App Store: https://appgridmac.com/migrate