Apple is set to permanently remove its Dashboard app from desktops with the upcoming MacOS Catalina update.
Appleosophy spotted the change while navigating a beta version of the update yesterday. The Apple rumours site used Terminal to force disable the dashboard app and then to enable it again. Rather than return an inactive dashboard as was expected, the app failed to reappear even after a forced reboot.
Related: Apple iMac 2019 review
The applications view also shows the Dashboard icon as a question mark, the same as it does for iTunes. This is a good indicator that we will be losing the Dashboard with Catalina as it was revealed at WWDC that Apple will finally be retiring the outdated music app with the new update.
Dashboard was first introduced in 2005 with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger as a fast way to access widgets but the feature has felt neglected for a while now. It hasn’t been included in a MacOS update since 2011’s OS X 10.7 Lion.
The app was primarily useful for storing widgets too small to find themselves worthy of existing as fully fledged apps. This includes sticky notes, weather predictors, calculator and unit conversion tools.
Luckily, any sticky notes you had saved on your dashboard will automatically be moved to the Stickies app. Not to mention that most of these widgets have been easily accessible through the Notification Center for years.
Related: You can download MacOS Catalina now – here’s how
To check out your widgets right now, click the Notification Center icon in the top right corner of the screen. You can also search for specific features in the Notification Center section of the App Store if there’s one widget you’re not quite ready to lose.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
