Finally received my phone this past weekend and have spent some time comparing the Nomad to the Apple leather (saddle) case, which I also picked up for comparison purposes. Here are my updated observations (see prior posts for prior observations sans phone):
1. While the Nomad leather is thicker than the Apple leather, in terms of actual case thickness and with the phone in the case, the difference is minimal to the point that I can barely discern any tactile difference between the two. I say tactile because all of the edges are thinner and more tapered/rounded on the Apple case, which optically makes Apple case appear to be slimmer to greater degree. Using a straight edge to compare, the Nomad may be a couple tenths of a mm thicker if that, but it's a difference that feels smaller than that but looks greater than that. In terms of weight, again the Nomad looks more substantial and does in fact weigh more, but only 4.8 grams more (23.8 v 28.6 grams) which is not noticeable.
2. The vibrate/mute button cutout is even smaller on the Apple case than on the Nomad, but is actually much easier for me to access than the one on the Nomad because of the slight difference in leather thickness. Honestly, with my blunt fingers and lack of nails, both are difficult for me to use, but the Apple is manageable with my index finger whereas with the Nomad I have to use a different finger.
3. While I stand by my prior comments regarding the comparative quality of the leathers and differences between the two, I have to agree with others who have said that the finishing on the Apple case is better. This is most noticeable at the camera cutout. There's a design difference here in that the Apple cutout is rounded at the edges where the Nomad is not, but that's more of a detail than a difference in the quality of the finishing. The real difference is that the paint that Nomad applied to the inner edges of the cutout (this is a standard practice with leather goods, irrespective of quality) is very unevenly applied. It's subtle, and I simply did not notice it before, but in side by side comparison with the Apple case and the more refined rolled edges, it stands out. That said, it sort of goes with the more rugged look of the Nomad case and doesn't really bother me, but it is sloppy. I did not look carefully at this aspect of the other Nomad examples that I saw at Best Buy, however, so I don't know if this is unique to my particular case or representative of most Nomads.
4. The Apple case is much easier to remove from the phone than the Nomad. The Apple case does not fit remotely loosely, so I'm guessing this is mostly a function of the Nomad having full coverage at the bottom whereas the Apple does not. The Nomad is actually somewhat difficult to remove the phone from, which is an issue for me because I have to swap cases regularly with my Studio Proper bike mount compatible case.
Unexpectedly, I've decided to keep the Apple case and return the Nomad. I still prefer the style/look of the Nomad leather and the bottom coverage that it provides, but the easier vibration/mute switch access and case removal of the Apple make it the better choice for me.
Pics below showing the differences (or lack thereof) in the camera cutouts and thickness.