The reason Apple won’t let this developer update their app is insane
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple has blocked AppGrid, a popular Launchpad alternative, from receiving App Store updates despite removing the Launchpad itself in macOS Tahoe.
- Apple says AppGrid violates guidelines by resembling outdated Launchpad functionality, forcing developer Attila Miklosi to redesign or distribute outside of the App Store.
- This policy leaves users with unsupported App Store versions while the developer now offers updated versions directly at lower prices.
With the release of macOS Tahoe last September, Apple introduced a major change: it removed Launchpad and replaced it with the Apps app. Many of us mourned the loss (and many of you laughed at us, based on the feedback I received from this article) and turned to third-party Launchpad-like solutions to fill the void. However, Apple says these third-party apps could also be at risk.
Developer Michael Tsai recently posted about AppGrid, a Launchpad-like app that many use in the macOS Tahoe Launchpad vacuum. Unfortunately, AppGrid developer Attila Miklosi cannot update the app in the Mac App Store. Miklosi was told that the reason was that the app violated an Apple guideline: AppGrid looks too much like Launchpad.
Yes, AppGrid looks like Launchpad, but that’s the point since LaunchPad no longer exists. With this decision, Apple is essentially saying that the guidelines apply even when Apple disapproves of a feature or app, which is unfair. There’s an argument to be made that Apple protects its intellectual property, but if this is an item that will likely never come back, why bother?
Miklosi was informed that updates will be allowed once AppGrid is redesigned to not look like Launchpad. “Thousands of people have already paid for it, and they paid exactly to make it as similar to Launchpad as possible, so I decided not to go that route,” he told Tsai.
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To make things even more confusing, AppGrid is still available for purchase on the Mac App Store, but the app is all but gone. It cannot be updated because Apple does not allow it. But Apple continues to collect its 30% cut every time someone buys it. Miklosi also gets his cut for the app, but it can’t be updated, so people who bought it are essentially getting unsupported software. In the App Store description, Miklosi promises that a new version with “powerful new features, including advanced grid customization, app grouping, renaming, and more.” will be available soon, but as long as Apple has a say, it won’t.
Miklosi has given up trying to resolve the App Store problem and is focusing on the version of AppGrid downloadable directly through his site. Apple probably won’t do anything to stop this, but who knows? Maybe Launchpad will return in macOS 27.
If you want to try AppGrid, don’t get the Mac App Store version, visit Appgridmac.com and get it. It’s actually cheaper: Unlocking the full AppGrid feature set costs $25 with support for five Macs, compared to $30 in the App Store.
