So I finally pulled the trigger and picked up a Nexus 6P (Frost 64GB) and I thought I'd post my thoughts and some comparisons with my other phones. My last phone was an HTC One M8, which I have had for 2 years and I really loved that phone. I also have an iPhone 6 from work.
First thing's first: WOW THIS PHONE IS AMAZING. LIKE REALLY, REALLY AMAZING. WOW.
Okay, obviously most people here have a N6P and know what the phone is capable of, but I thought I'd give some insight into the other devices I have.
HTC One M8:
I loved this phone. Yeah, the camera wasn't amazing, but I never felt like it deserved all the hate that it got. I've taken some incredible photos with the M8 and captured important moments and never felt like I was using an inferior product. I had several iPhone users comment that the M8 took better photos than their phones (iPhone 4s and iPhone 5). Sure, it's not the best, but it works, and importantly, it saves photos quickly.
The build quality on the M8 was *almost* perfect. I had only 2 issues in 2 years, and both manifested themselves from the start and never got any worse. The first issue was that the part above the screen was not glued down properly on the right side. It was only noticeable when you looked for it, though, so it didn't bother me much. The other issue was a single stuck pixel (green) which was almost never noticeable either, but occasionally it would stand out on a black/dark screen. Aside from those issues, the phone was perfect.
The software is an interesting area for me, because I strongly dislike UIs that add too much or otherwise make things more difficult than they need to be. I rooted/S-OFF'd my M8 and went with a custom ROM - but I always chose Sense ROMs, because Sense, well, makes sense. It's not a far cry from the stock experience and it's nowhere near as awful as TouchWiz is/was (GS5 was my last TW phone).
As much as I loved the M8, the N6P is simply superior in every way. The camera is fantastic, the build quality is perfect, and the UI is intuitive and WOW this phone is fast.
iPhone 6:
Okay, I'm not a fan of Apple's products. I freely admit my bias. That said, I was distinctly unimpressed with the iPhone 6. It doesn't feel like something significant when you hold it. It's too light and I felt I had to put a case on it (paid for case+screen protector myself) because it just doesn't feel like it's a device that can withstand a whole lot. It is pretty to look at, and it's an engineering marvel in that they fit so much into so little space, but compared to the One M8 it just doesn't have a premium feel to it. There's no imperfections (aside from general use and wear from the previous user), so the quality is good - just not my thing.
The user experience hasn't dramatically changed with the iPhone in a long time. For some people, that's a good thing. For others, not so much. I like new things. The finger print reader on the iPhone 6 only seems to work about 50% of the time - and I have to wake it up first. The positioning doesn't feel natural at all, either, but it is a neat feature to integrate it into the home button, which you're used to pressing anyway.
I do seem to have an issue where notifications don't show up on the lock screen, though they're enabled in settings. I don't use the phone all that much since it's mostly for syncing work emails, but getting a notification for a text shouldn't be a complicated thing. Other times it will vibrate but there's nothing to indicate any message came in, even when I check in my messages (sms and email).
So, how do these phones compare to the N6P?
Obviously, it's the 6P by a mile - but for the same reasons my M8 beat my previous phone (an original LG Lucid) by a mile. It's a great device that does a lot of things and does them well.
Only one tiny complaint I can even think of: when I switched to Fi from Verizon, I started getting poor signal/no signal on my daily commute (I take a subway). My M8 would get good service in the subway, but that is not the case with Fi. It's not a huge issue since the stations all have Xfinity wifi, but it would have been nice.
Well, I think that about does it. I can't keep my hands off my phone. Even at work, I check the phone constantly and not a single time has Nexus Imprint failed to pick up my fingerprint (again, iPhone 6 has about 50% accuracy). I really just can't believe how great this phone is!
First thing's first: WOW THIS PHONE IS AMAZING. LIKE REALLY, REALLY AMAZING. WOW.
Okay, obviously most people here have a N6P and know what the phone is capable of, but I thought I'd give some insight into the other devices I have.
HTC One M8:
I loved this phone. Yeah, the camera wasn't amazing, but I never felt like it deserved all the hate that it got. I've taken some incredible photos with the M8 and captured important moments and never felt like I was using an inferior product. I had several iPhone users comment that the M8 took better photos than their phones (iPhone 4s and iPhone 5). Sure, it's not the best, but it works, and importantly, it saves photos quickly.
The build quality on the M8 was *almost* perfect. I had only 2 issues in 2 years, and both manifested themselves from the start and never got any worse. The first issue was that the part above the screen was not glued down properly on the right side. It was only noticeable when you looked for it, though, so it didn't bother me much. The other issue was a single stuck pixel (green) which was almost never noticeable either, but occasionally it would stand out on a black/dark screen. Aside from those issues, the phone was perfect.
The software is an interesting area for me, because I strongly dislike UIs that add too much or otherwise make things more difficult than they need to be. I rooted/S-OFF'd my M8 and went with a custom ROM - but I always chose Sense ROMs, because Sense, well, makes sense. It's not a far cry from the stock experience and it's nowhere near as awful as TouchWiz is/was (GS5 was my last TW phone).
As much as I loved the M8, the N6P is simply superior in every way. The camera is fantastic, the build quality is perfect, and the UI is intuitive and WOW this phone is fast.
iPhone 6:
Okay, I'm not a fan of Apple's products. I freely admit my bias. That said, I was distinctly unimpressed with the iPhone 6. It doesn't feel like something significant when you hold it. It's too light and I felt I had to put a case on it (paid for case+screen protector myself) because it just doesn't feel like it's a device that can withstand a whole lot. It is pretty to look at, and it's an engineering marvel in that they fit so much into so little space, but compared to the One M8 it just doesn't have a premium feel to it. There's no imperfections (aside from general use and wear from the previous user), so the quality is good - just not my thing.
The user experience hasn't dramatically changed with the iPhone in a long time. For some people, that's a good thing. For others, not so much. I like new things. The finger print reader on the iPhone 6 only seems to work about 50% of the time - and I have to wake it up first. The positioning doesn't feel natural at all, either, but it is a neat feature to integrate it into the home button, which you're used to pressing anyway.
I do seem to have an issue where notifications don't show up on the lock screen, though they're enabled in settings. I don't use the phone all that much since it's mostly for syncing work emails, but getting a notification for a text shouldn't be a complicated thing. Other times it will vibrate but there's nothing to indicate any message came in, even when I check in my messages (sms and email).
So, how do these phones compare to the N6P?
Obviously, it's the 6P by a mile - but for the same reasons my M8 beat my previous phone (an original LG Lucid) by a mile. It's a great device that does a lot of things and does them well.
Only one tiny complaint I can even think of: when I switched to Fi from Verizon, I started getting poor signal/no signal on my daily commute (I take a subway). My M8 would get good service in the subway, but that is not the case with Fi. It's not a huge issue since the stations all have Xfinity wifi, but it would have been nice.
Well, I think that about does it. I can't keep my hands off my phone. Even at work, I check the phone constantly and not a single time has Nexus Imprint failed to pick up my fingerprint (again, iPhone 6 has about 50% accuracy). I really just can't believe how great this phone is!
As much as I like how my 6P looks and feels, I still need a case in real world use, because the metal is just too slippery. I have Nexus Protect, but I certainly don't want to use it if I can avoid it!
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