Bruji

Although not a functional bug (as in crash or the like) I believe this to be a GUI bug.
If you have text in the search box and then clear it you either want to see the non filtered list OR enter a new search.
In either case the current behaviour is to have the search entry area lose focus.
If you just wanted to clear the filter this is of no import.
However if you wish to enter a new search term it is. In this case you need to click once again within the search box to give it focus and allow it to accept keyboard entry.

I think the clearing of the search box should maintain focus on the box.
If the box is cleared simply to see the whole list, this will have no impact.
If the box was cleared to allow a new entry, the user can immediately begin typing without needing to click in the box.

As someone who uses the search box quite a lot, I would find this really really really helpful.

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback.

This is actually an issue I am aware of. I actually waiting on Apple to fix a bug with the search field. I not only want it not to lose focus on pressing the cancel icon, I also want the placeholder aligned left, making the selection quicker as there is no animation. But there is a bug that is present when supporting older OS X, that I have open with Apple.

I am hoping it will be fixed in whatever macOS is announced on Monday at WWDC, or otherwise it will be fixed in the next big version when I can drop support for anything under 10.11.

I have flagged it again on my to do list, to remember in a couple of months with the new macOS, to take another stab at fixing it.

thought it was too obvious to be your bug.
thanks for the explanation and that it has and will continue to be looked at.