The current design of the close button is problematic, as it is too easy to accidentally close a tab when the intended action is to switch to it. The best user experience would be to place the button on the tooltip and have it remain visible so that the close button can be clicked. Microsoft already did the work to make the taskbar better for window management by changing the tooltip to a preview with a close button, this was a major improvement. So, making the change would follow an established UI design pattern and that would be easy for users to understand and use.
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