First and foremost, what is a Nexus Device and why should I choose it amongst the many top tier phones out there? A Nexus is an Android phone designed by Google, with its most notable feature being stock android and fast software updates directly from Google. I'll go into further details in the review. I've used the Nexus 6P for over a month and here are my pros and cons (in no particular order).

Pros:

Battery Life:

This is one of the biggest advantages of the Nexus 6P; as it lasts longer than other flagship android phones. The Nexus 6P can easily manage a heavy day of use or a moderate day of use with extra battery life left over. When being compared to similar spec flagship phones such as the S6 Edge, G4, and the V10; this is is a significant improvement. In my personal use; I can manage to get 5 hours of screen on time with moderate use (playing games, using Reddit, and browsing social media) with the brightness set at 75% while using mostly wifi and occasionally switching to LTE. The 6P has its own quick charging, going from 0 to 100% in just an hour and 20 minutes. Your results may vary, but many other reviewers have given the Nexus 6P praise for its great battery life.

Performance:

Another main advantage of owning a Nexus phone is its stock software. This means no unnecessary apps, bloatware, or other preinstalled programs that bog down performance. However, this could be a slight con to those who enjoy the extra features manufacturers do include such as multi-window or clearing all background apps with the push of a button. In addition to stock software, Nexus phones are first to receive updates directly from Google themselves. This means frequent and up to date software. Paired with the latest Snapdragon 810 (2.0), Adreno 430, and 3GB of LPDDR4 ram; the Nexus 6P has buttery smooth performance. Animations, load times, gaming, and multitasking are all superb. What good is a phone if the software isn't optimized well to run on its hardware?

Display:

Given the fact that the Nexus 6P does use the latest generation Samsung AMOLED panel with a 1440p resolution, it's no surprise that the display on the Nexus 6P is simply stunning. Having AMOLED technology on the display means that it has the ability to turn off individual pixels, giving black colors an ink-like look. In addition, colors are vibrant and saturated. If you prefer a more balanced and neutral look, SRGB mode can be turned on (via developer options). Maximum brightness is a little weak in direct sunlight, especially when compared to phones such as the S6 Edge. Overall the 6P has one of the best smartphones displays to date.

Speakers:

Because the 6P has dual front facing speakers; audio is directly facing you and is and free from being blocked by a finger or hand when the phone is being held. From a non- audiop​hile's perspective; the 6P has a speaker that is loud and clear. When paired with the gorgeous 1440p display; the 6P makes a great device for media consumption.

Build Quality:

The design of the phone is purely subjective; so I'll touch down on the build quality itself. The anodized aluminum combined with a nearly all metal chassis makes the phone feel premium and sturdy. With that being said; it’s also easy to scratch; so a phone skin or case is recommended. It won't bend when being put in your pocket and I have yet to see and bending on my own 6P. The very bottom portion of the phone is plastic (but feels just like aluminum); this allows NFC and other waves to pass through. The 6P feels just as premium as other flagship phones.

Camera: Without getting too technical, the camera on the Nexus 6P is definitely up there for top smartphone cameras, but does lack Optical Image Stabilization. This isn’t much of an issue unless you’ll be taking a lot of 4K video (where micro stutters are noticeable). Dynamic Laser Autofocus is fast and pictures are taken relatively fast (unless when taken in HDR+ mode), where the processing takes longer than other phones. In addition, there are no manual controls that can be found in the Samsung and LG phones, and the Camera software can be slightly laggy at times. The 6P does shine in low light performance; where enabling HDR+ makes a huge difference and goes head to head or sometimes even better than similar flagship phones. Pictures are a little saturated (not as much as the S6/Note), detailed, and sharp. Overall the camera is fantastic and can trade blows with flagship phones but falls behind when it comes to 4K video.

Nexus Imprint/fingerprint sensor:

This is a new feature implemented into the Nexus phones, and it’s amazing. It is rare for the fingerprint sensor to fail to read my fingerprint. It goes head to head with Apple’s own Touch ID in terms of accuracy and is (barely) the fastest in terms of unlocking speeds. An advantage it has over the iPhone and other phones is that the phone can be directly unlocked via fingerprint without turning the screen on beforehand. In other words, the fingerprint sensor is always on and doesn't require the phone to be woken up beforehand.

Cons:

No Wireless Charging:

Unlike most flagship android phones and the previous Nexus; the Nexus 6P does not support wireless charging. This is due to the aluminum design. However, NFC is supported. In my opinion, the reversible USB Type-C that supports rapid charging makes up for it (it's reversible on both ends).

No Micro SD expansion:

Pretty self-explanatory. The Nexus series hasn't had the option for expandable storage for a while now but it is something to note. However, the 128GB version of this phone is around the same price of the base models of other flagship phones.

Camera Lacks OIS (Optical Image Stabilization):

Overall, the Nexus 6P is hands down, the best Android phone of 2015. It has an excellent battery, smooth performance, frequent software updates, sharp display, dual front-facing speakers, and a good camera (especially in low light). In addition (at least for those buying in the U.S), it comes unlocked at a significantly lower price than its competitors. I would give this phone a 9 out of 10.

Update 6/12/16:

My Nexus 6P has been running great without any issues. Updates directly from Google have been quick as expected and they've updated the Camera application. The User Interface is cleaner and the Camera App itself is faster than before. The biggest change is the 1080P video being much smoother when faced with shaky movement. I would still recommend purchasing the Nexus 6P.

Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below regarding any aspect of the phone or the review itself. I will respond within a day or two. [...]

As an iPhone convert, I was a little skeptical about making the move to Nexus and Android as a whole. I thought the transfer of my data would be hard (it wasn't), and I had a bunch of misconceptions about Android that were ultimately way wrong. I've made the switch and I don't think I'm ever going back.

What Google has made is not only the iPhone's cheaper competitor, but also the Android OS as it was made to be; in it's purest form. I've always associated the Android OS with bloatware from carriers, resulting in a not so minimal and often ugly-looking phone. I've also never experienced Android on a premium device, meaning that it left a bad taste in my mouth when I used the OS on some cheap devices. But with Nexus, you get the real Android experience. Everything is buttery smooth, fast, fluid, intuitive, and most importantly, customizable. From the ground up, you can make your phone the way you want it to be. It's up to you how you want your phone to work.

Anyways, enough about the OS. Let's talk about the phone itself and what makes it great.

1. Price & Value

I buy my electronics for the long haul. The 6P is built superbly and has Gorilla Glass protecting its front and back. Despite what other say, I also find it easy to hold and don't worry about losing my grip on it. The 6P is sturdy, sleek, and unique all at the same time.

I also want a good deal too. The 6P delivers on both of those fronts. It's main competitor, the iPhone 6s Plus, is $649 unlocked, and that's for a 16GB model. My 32GB 6P cost around ~$400 after some discounts at Best Buy. There's no doubt in my mind that the 6P is one of the best deals on the market right now.

2. Fingerprint Scanner

The placement of the fingerprint scanner (top of the back) is perfect. It's just real natural to place your finger there to unlock your phone, nothing awkward about it. You can also log multiple fingerprints too, meaning that you could pick up the phone with either hand and unlock it. If you prefer not having to enter a password, your prints can be used to buy apps from the Play Store and open certain apps. The scanner is also one of the fastest, if not the fastest out there. The scanner is also incredibly accurate as well. In the few days I've used it, I can count on my hand the number of times it's incorrectly read my print, and that's probably user error.

Simply put, Google is killing it here.

3. Camera

Talk about a nice camera. I'll let the pictures I took do the talking. While Google's camera app leaves a little to be desired at times, it gets the job done. The camera performs great in all kinds of lighting, and is adept at adjusting to its surroundings. 12 MP is as good as it gets right now in smartphones, and while it's not DSLR-quality, your Instagram feed will still look good. Speaking of DSLR, I took some photos with my Nikon D40 for comparison. The first two are Nexus.

*the photos below were untouched.*

4. Design/Size

First of all, this phone isn't big at all. No, you don't need to be Lana from Archer to use this phone. I upgraded from a meager iPhone 4s, and was quite concerned about this phone's seemingly gargantuan size. But once you get it in hand, you'll see that you were worried about nothing. It's hard to explain, but you'll never want to have a small phone again after your first day with the 6P. It just feels right. Once you learn how to cradle the phone the right way, you'll forget about the phone's size.

If you're still worried about the size, check out this site to compare the 6P to your current phone.

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size

I will concede that on some apps, it's mildly inconvenient to stretch your finger all the way across the screen, but this is a small tradeoff for the big beautiful screen that you get.

I gushed about the design a bit earlier, but it really is the cat's balls. The front-facing speaker is loud and clear, and won't muffle unless you put your phone face down. On the top, the earpiece produces great call quality and makes it easy to hear your caller. The phone is easy to hold, and the power/volume buttons don't get in the way. The aluminum and metal build make the phone feel and look premium, and it seems as if Google didn't cut any corners in designing this unit.

5. Battery Life

A lot of critics have been gushing about this, and rightfully so. Without adjusting any of my settings, or using any battery management apps, the 6P can easily make it through a day and then some of heavy use. This varies of course, but I'm content as long as my phone makes it though the day without needing a charge. If you mess with your settings and/or use apps, the 6P can easily last you a couple of days if you manage the battery effectively. You can also easily analyze which apps are effecting battery performance.

Using Google's official cable/adaptor, it takes about a little more than an hour for my phone to go from zero to one-hundred. That's from zero to one-hundred real quick. While the whole USB-C setup isn't exactly ubiquitous yet, it's fast and great for data transfer. The USB-C is reversible and can also be used to reverse charge, meaning that your 6P could charge someone else's USB-C device.

6. Software/Hardware

As I said before, Android is what you make of it. Marshmallow is a great OS, and that's amplified by the fact that Google gives you no bloatware or add-ons. I believe that out of the box, only around 3 GB of the 32 total GB is occupied. It's the purest form of Android, how it was meant to be. Everything flows great. Google Now and it's cards are also really convenient once it gets to learn about you. The animations are smooth, glitchless, and the phone is fast thanks to 3GB of RAM. Nexus users also get Android updates first before the general populace, meaning your phone is up-to-date. You can expect these Nexus-only benefits to grow in the future as Google makes it like their iPhone.

The Nexus is also equipped with real good hardware. The Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, and Adreno 430 GPU all work in harmony to keep your experience with games, apps, and multitasking lag-free. The Samsung AMOLED 1440 display is also one of the best screens on the market right now. Heck, the pictures I took looked way better on my Nexus before I uploaded them on my laptop. Colors are bright and vibrant, and video is top-class. The brightness also has a wide range. At its lowest, the screen is even a little too dark for nighttime use. At it's brightest, it can contend with the bright sun.

7. Cellular Data

I've been using Google's Project Fi thus far, and I'm really impressed. I got my SIM card in the mail and a nice phone stand LEGO set from them in the mail free of charge. Porting my number over took about five minutes, and my service has been great. Fi uses T-Mobile and Sprint for data, and places calls over Wi-Fi when possible by using encryption/VPN. Using my phone out and about almost seemed faster than my in-home Internet, and calls over both Wi-Fi and cell were clear and great quality. You can also manage your data in the Settings by alerting you when your data used reaches a certain amount, and you can even set a limit that will turn off your phone's data when exceeded.

8. Misses

While the Nexus 6P is great by almost every standard in the book, here are a few things I wish this phone would have.

- wireless charging
- dual SIM port
- expandable micro SD
- removable battery
- different screenshot option (Pressing power/volume down at the same time is awkward. Thankfully you can long press the home button and press the share button on the left to bypass this.)

Overall, the Nexus 6P is probably the best value on the phone market. You've got top-of-the-line performance at a significant discount from its main competitor in the Apple 6s Plus, and you get Android in its greatest form. With a great camera, display, hardware, software, and preferred treatment from Google, the Nexus 6P should be in your pocket.

PICS

#1 & #2: shot with Nexus 6P; no editing
#3 & 4: shot with Nikon D40 DSLR; no editing
#5: Backside of 6P
#6: My gross hand
#7: Backside with camera/mic/scanner
#8: Side (SIM port on top left)
#9: My home screen. Just showing what cool things you can do with Android. Nova Launcher Prime and Moonshine are the launcher/icon combo I used.
#10: Second screen. Same stuff.
#11: What the battery screen looks like. Great for analyzing when and what effects your battery.