Week 1 with a Google Nexus 6P

I started my Android/iOS story a couple of weeks ago, and last week, I took action. I sold my iPhone and ordered in a Google Nexus 6P. I’m not going to lie – I was nervous to make the switch back to Android for a few reasons:

1. The last time I purchased an Android device, it failed me miserably (became a paper weight at best);
2. My wife is an iOS’er, so the whole ‘family app/music/etc.., including all purchases made (not a ton really);
3. iMessage on multiple devices all connected (my iMac, a work iPad).

It’s funny, when I went to the Nexus 5, I thought the device was too big; it wasn’t. So when I decided to go even bigger, I was really nervous.

The Nexus 6P is a beautiful device – period. They did a lot of things right in the design of it, and is it snappy fast. I’m not going to review it as there are a ton out there, but some of the key features that stand out:

1. Fingerprint sensor – it is in the perfect spot.
2. The screen – wow.
3. Battery life – for a big device, it holds its own for sure, lasting me at least a day with moderate use.

After a week of being back with the 6P, I must say I am pretty happy. It’s the little things like the Android keyboard, as it has stock swipe typing (no add-on 3rd party app), as well as top row numbers accessible by holding down the letter (ie: Q=1, W=2) instead of turning on the first-level numeric menu. Something I always wondered why iOS didn’t have.

Does my wife miss ‘iMessaging’ me? She sent me the ‘I miss iMessaging you’ text the first day, but since then, it’s been a non-issue. The blue and green bubbles don’t bug her anymore. 🙂

We both have Gmail accounts, use Drive and share photos through shared albums in Google Photos, making it super easy so that we have each others photos that we take of our little man on whatever device or wherever we are.

If there was one thing that Apple didn’t get right, it’s their photo management, which is ‘a mess’. The whole iCloud concept that they have is a disaster, where Google Drive/Apps, etc… trumps it hands down.

Hence, my reason for exploring the Nexus 6P.

Do I miss iOS this week? not really, but as most of my friends and family are iOS users, I’ve been getting the ‘you messages are coming through as texts’… Group messaging and things like that are not really possible anymore being on Android this week, so there’s one thing that isn’t really a deal breaker, but it’s a factor nonetheless.

On Sunday, in a moment of weakness as my friend Tim Robinson would say, taking advantage of the return policies for both companies, I actually took more action and ordered an iPhone 6S as a fail safe. I’m actually contemplating going back to iOS, but I couldn’t get over the price differences in hardware comparing similar models:

• iPhone 6S – 16GB – $899: Nexus 5x – 32GB – $499
• iPhone 6S Plus – 16GB – $1029: Nexus 6P – 32 GB – $699

Of course, some specs aren’t exactly the same, but for the most part, they’re similar to a degree. and the cost difference alone just blows my mind.

I get to spend a day or two with each device before I make a final decision. I know what I’m leaning towards, but I’ll weigh all factors before sending one of these devices back where they came from.

Stay tuned!