@aral What we've found across a number of research exercises over the years is that:
- Basically nobody uses the app menu, either as a menu or as a focus indicator
- New people are often confused by the app menu, thinking that it's a taskbar/app switcher
- The app menu makes it harder for people to find Activities, because it's right next to it and visually more prominent
Try it for a few days, most people very quickly forget the app menu ever existed :)