Screen and camera will be better than the Nexus for sure. What you get from a Nexus is a consistently smooth and reliable experience and timely updates for features that I have found to be actually useful.
I find stock to be intuitive with a ui design that doesn't grow tiresome with time. Something I have learned from my a/v hobby is that if anything immediately stands out to you from a design or appeal perspective that is the first thing you grow to haste, kind of like a loud speaker that's sounds nice and sharp at first listen gets fatiguing and overwhelming over time. If you go with a speaker that is more balanced, as time goes on, you start to appreciate and hear things you've never heard before from tracks you're familiar with. I find stock Android to be the same, nothing really does at first impression but overtime you start to appreciate how intuitive everything is.
As far as toggles, stock Android wins here as you can customize them however you like using an app so you even have web link or app shortcuts.
Yep exactly.
Essentially it's only after trying so many other OS's and their plusses and minuses that I appreciate how efficient stock android is. It's an android OS that I don't have to micromanage unlike touchwiz. It's lacking in bells and whistles but does all the essentials without hesitation.
You have freedom to add to stock android replacement defaults to your own preference without still being saddled with redundant heavy ram hungry OS features from an OEM.
The fact my average memory use without thinking of closing apps and micromanaging background tasks is 1.4gb, which is 800mb less than my Edge + in just system mem usage alone.
In an ideal world I would love an S6 Edge + running stock android. So yeah there are still trade offs.
My negatives ...
Despite being a Samsung Panel the display isn't as bright as any of Samsung's own flagships. Out of the box its colour calibration is way off base and even after corrected its not quite as accurate as either the iPhone 6S plus, Moto X Style (with normal made enabled) or the Note 5 / Edge / S6 with (basic mode enabled).
But its still leagues better than the Nexus 6 and is a great panel generally. But if you are in a position to compare it to those others the difference is noticeable. I had difficulty just now trying to take photos simply because I could barely see the screen in the low winter sunshine.
Battery life has been good and up there with the rest of them, but maybe not as good as the iPhone 6S + which still seems to retain the champion trophy.
Camera has been a bit so so even for me so far tbh. Now I've not had best weather to take shots but so far the results are underwhelming me. It's not bad - its just maybe not quite as good as those others I have.
Headphone jack is a pain in the arse. Of the 5 headphones in the house it refuses to work with my sennheiser studio ones or my xiaomi Piston 3 earphones. All my other devices have no issue with any of the headphones.
Screen is a veritable fingerprint magnet and needs a tempered screen protector with a good oleophobic coating.
My positives
Stereo speakers are clear and crisp
Phone calls are likewise
Cellular reception is good even in crappy coverage areas.
It feels and looks like the best Nexus device ever
Stock android performance and reliability just wins out over bells and whistles. I still get peeved off that simple things like lockscreen and homescreen wallpapers can't be changed independently. But generally the level of performance and the fact I just use my phone / device without trying to tweak it constantly for best performance is one of the things I admire the most in iOS and likewise Stock Android.
Heat wise the phone is cooler even with fast charging than any of the other android flagships this year. Including the exynos ones.
Not thinking about when I'm getting the next android update. Knowing I'll get it as soon as its available. So much wasted time googling and obsessing over getting an update on other android devices, that frustration is taken away and I appreciate that.
Fingerprint reader has been excellent. Though double tap to launch camera is silly in that if you do it from an unlocked phone it still puts it into stabdby/lock so you have to unlock after taking the photo. That can be fixed by software.
Another not quite perfect device and joins the ranks of the rest of them this year. I remain in search of the elusive perfect one.
But I will keep hold of the Nexus 6P simply because I do appreciate the just use it comfort it gives compared to obsessing about performance and tweaking every other android device gives me (excluding maybe Moto).
It's a device you'll like or say meh! to based on your own preferences. What you want out of a device and on a scale which you govern higher priorities.
