Define "from the side" - on my Jolla the behaviour with the new update is as I think it should be - swiping from the side in landscape mode means from the shorter ends of tzhe phone, what was the top or bottom when holding it in portrait mode. i.e. When in landscape mode your finger does exactly the same to close or go to home screen as in portrait, although the phone is rotated 90°.

I think this behaviour is logical and intuitive, but maybe they could include a switch for people who like it the other way around.

Or have I misunderstood you and your Jolla actually closes when you swipe your finger left-right in landscape?