use 'app switch' gesture to close app

This can work... Then add an "Alt-tab" option to the top menu that quickly switches to previous app.

I'm not sure I understand the difference between a long and a short swipe. Maybe the gesture should be even more distinct so we dont end up with the same (un)usability catastrophe that now is the top menu. (I would suggest a swipe from the edge towards the bottom of the screen. There could even be a visual indication like a "paper bin area" below the minimized apps while you do this swipe so people know what to do.)

The charm of a side-swipe solution is that it's easier to reach than the top swipe where "close app" has lived for so long now. As closing an app is the more often needed function, it should reside in a more reachable place than the hardly used top menu, anyway.

@ossi1967 This is what I understood with "Short" versus "Long" swipe: Short swipe --> Swipe from edge and lift your finger. Long swipe --> Swipe from edge and keep your finger on screen for a while, say a second, after stopping.

@Nova ah, OK, I see... I would have interpreted it as distance. Short = roughly the middle of the screen vs long = almost the opposite edge.

Anyway, I still think it would be good to have a gesture that cannot be interpreted in a wrong way (or done wrong) and is easily distinguishable from others to avoid the current mistake on the top edge. That's why I thought a diagonal or two-direction swipe from the edge to the center and then down would be more clear and less error-prone. But maybe it would work with long vs short, who knows.

my 2 cents about current state of gestures - 1) I don't like the new 'swipe to change keyboards' gesture, because I've gotten used to swiping to move the cursor, (I did find out, though, that it still works if you leave one finger on the keyboard while swiping). 2) Android-style 'last app switcher' gesture would be appreciated.