[rkangel]

The first thing I did is disable it too. This article worries me because it sounds like this is the direction they're going in, and maybe that option won't exist in the future.

The problem with the merged approach is that tabs and apps aren't equivalent, and this way you get a problem with 'losing' tabs in a way you're never going to with an app.

For pretty much everything else, one running app in the switcher maps to one icon in the menu. You're never going to 'lose' an app because it's always on your homescreen as well. You never have to go through the switcher you can always locate the program. Tabs though are ephemeral, and are multiple instances of a single installed app.

If I open a page to read, then get distracted by a facebook notification, I might forget it's there. With a proper tab switcher, I will rediscover it. With the merged approach, I'll probably never see it again (I don't know what actually happens here, does it eventually disappear?). There's no discovery in the process like there is with a normal app.