Until now, to close an app on a laptop or a computer, you have to click on the ‘x’ button or press the back or home button on your phone. But that may soon change with Google’s new solution.
According to a report by Firstpost, Google has filed a patent, recently revealed, that defines a gesture to let you close an app by drawing an X over it.
According to a Digital Tends report, the patent could have a lot more implications, beyond Android. A gesture like this can be used on smartphones, computers and virtual reality headsets. This would mean that the user only needs to learn one set of gestures, which can then be applied to their entire digital life. The report also says that this would mean that an application will not need to tell the user how to exit.
This gesture, if one goes by the patent, could be used on smartphones, computers and even on a projector.
However, it may not be as simple as you think. For the gesture to work, the first slash of the X has to go from corner to corner. But with the second crossing slash there is some leeway.
But several reports suggest that if there is anyway going to be an effort involved with drawing an X, and that also from corner to corner, one might as well go click the X button on the top right corner. There isn’t a lot that’s being made easier.
Firstpost says that even for AR or VR, Apple’s 5-finger pinch is still a faster and more natural gesture for shutting apps than drawing an X.
However, this is just only a patent application. There is a long way before this translates into reality. If it will, that is.