Launchpad

Launchpad is an application launcher that was introduced with Mac OS X Lion. It is designed to be a simpler alternative to Finder, the default application launcher of macOS.

History
Launchpad was announced on October 20, 2010, alongside Mac OS X Lion. It resembles the Home Screen in iOS, including the ability to create folders, though they do not reflect the actual filesystem. The concept is similar to the Launcher utility found in the classic Mac OS; however, Launchpad only shows applications, whereas the Launcher could also show documents. Launchpad was released in July 2011 with Mac OS X Lion. On October 12, 2011, the Mac OS X 10.7.2 update allowed Launchpad to display larger icons.

Usage
To access Launchpad, the user clicks the icon in the Dock or the F4 special function key on a keyboard, or performs a thumb and three finger pinch gesture on compatible trackpads. All of the applications installed on the computer are shown automatically, including applications downloaded from the Mac App Store. To delete an application downloaded from the Mac App Store, simply click-and-hold the icon and click the 'X' that appears in the upper left corner. Applications that were not downloaded from the Mac App Store can be accessed through Launchpad, but cannot be deleted in the same way.