I am in love with a Nexus phone.

This is not an exaggeration. I wasn’t crazy about the Nexus 6when I first laid hs on it, but now I’m totally completely enamored.

I didn’t think it was possible for to make a Nexus phone that could excite me. ly, I’ve never been that interested in Nexus devices because they were always missing some particularly important feature that Samsung, HTC, or did better—or they weren’t compatible with Verizon’s network.

Android has undergone serious evolution in the last year. It’s no longer quite the open-source minefield it used to be. ’s worked hard to ensure there’s a somewhat consistent experience across devices, those who don’t abide have started to feel the wrath of the community. ’re seeing drastic changes on the horizon, including the fact that now has its very own, bona-fide flagship device that can compete with the hottest phones from other manufacturers.

The best-looking Nexus ever

The “ in Nexus 6sts for “premium,” which perfectly sums up the Huawei-made Nexus 6 Its aluminum frame looks fancy, but not flashy, like a well-groomed Clooney in a sportcoat. I also like that it’s something you can wield as a woman still feel stylish. I maintain that Samsung’s Galaxy S6 ge is a more attractive phone overall, but I’m pleased the bar has been raised. Cheap, plastic phones are no longer allowed, especially if you’re charging $500 for it.

There are lots of little things to love about the Nexus 6 There are small, thin plastic antenna strips in either corner of the device, a tiny D notification light in the upper left-h corner. There are stereo speakers that are loud well amplified, music sounds so good piped through them. There’s also a Nano SIM slot on the left-h side of the chassis, a volume rocker power button on the right that’s placed low enough so you don’t have to stretch to press them.

The fingerprint reader on the back of the Nexus 6is incredibly responsive. After logging in my fingerprint, it took a mere second to unlock the phone shoot straight to the Home screen with the touch of my index finger. Not everyone’s a fan of the fingerprint reader’s rear location, but it feels more natural to use than if it were placed on the front of the device, like on the Galaxy S6. That will create some issues for those who like to use their phone while it’s laying on the table, however. You’ll have to turn the phone on from the power button on the side then input your passcode or pattern unlock to get past the ck screen.

There’s also the matter of size. The Nexus 6isn’t exactly compact. It’s a 5.7-inch device, which puts it into “phablet” territory. It’s not as overwhelming to carry as last year’s Nexus 6, but it’s still pretty big. It doesn’t fit in most of my jacket pockets (women’s clothing manufacturers don’t give us pants pockets anymore) it’s a bit dense. These weren’t issues for me, however, as I found the Nexus 6to be comfortable to hold for extended periods of time. If it’s a smaller phone you’re after, that’s what the Nexus 5X is for.

As I mentioned in my hs-on, the backside bulge on the Nexus 6is not as much of an issue as the mockups leaked images had previously made it out to be. That little strip that houses the camera hardware makes the backside look more like a thin point–shoot than a smartphone. Users do care what the backside looks like because that’s what everyone else will see when they look at your hs, this backside looks just as polished as any other flagship’s.

A Samsung-made display

The screen on the Nexus 6is a 5.7-inch, 2560 x 1440 AMOD display, which the Nexus team has already confirmed is a Samsung display panel—the same one used in its marquee phones this year.

This is simply the best display I’ve ever seen on a Nexus device. It is just as bright beautiful as the Galaxy Note 5’s, along with the same sort-of saturated color profiles ability to go totally dim in the dead of night. You can also see the Nexus 6s display out in broad daylight with the brightness turned all the way up, but make sure to do that before you leave the house.

But is it fast? Keep reading for full performance benchmarks.

Yes, it’s powerful

I know what you’re thinking: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 again? But you needn’t groan here. The Nexus 6did not throttle or get insanely hot during benchmark tests, though the results were a bit inconsistent. Some of the Nexus 6s scores were oddly lower than we’d expected from a second-generation Snapdragon 810, while others were right on point. Thankfully, that didn’t translate into shoddy performance while actually using the device. The Nexus 6is a speedy device you shouldn’t let the Snapdragon 810 scare you off.

If it’s a powerhouse you’re looking for, Samsung’s Galaxy S6 its related family members are still the devices to beat. The Nexus 6trailed behind Samsung’s top-tier phones in most benchmarks.

Of course, benchmarks are still just numbers, the true test of a smartphone is how well is holds up over time, in regular everyday use. From my anecdotal experience, the Galaxy S6 ge has had quite a few meltdowns during the six months I’ve been using it. I’m curious to see how Android 6.0 performs on the new Nexus devices throughout the next few months, though it’ll likely fare better just because there isn’t bloatware a heavily modified interface to contend with like on Samsung ’s devices.

The Nexus 6s battery benchmarks show it beating most other flagships, particularly those in the same price range. In our battery tests, the 6s 3450 mAh battery lasted six hours 22 minutes—about an hour less than the Note 5’s 3000 mAh battery pack. I figured battery life benchmarks would be better, because the Nexus 6lasted through a day of heavy usage, but Samsung’s latest phones are outliers in those tests. In real-world use, the situation favors the 6more, I was able to get through a day of pretty heavy use without recharging. You can also feel comforted by the fact that it comes with a fast-charging B Type-C charger in the box, so you can cart that around to give the phone quick energy boosts throughout the day. I managed to rack up 80-percent battery life in just an hour.

t’s talk about the camera

In my experience, Nexus devices have typically shown lackluster camera performance. They’ve either shot photos that appeared blown-out or, in the case of last year’s Nexus 6, lacked the ability to take a decent photo in low light environments. Fortunately, the Nexus 6s camera is exponentially better than those of its predecessors. 

The 12.3-megapixel rear-facing camera sensor on the Nexus 6is manufactured by Sony, which also supplies camera sensors for plenty of other OEMs. However, this particular sensor differs in that it features 1.55 micron pixels, which are about four times the size of normal pixels in other camera sensors. This is supposed to help the 6capture more light in darker environments, though it still falls short compared to Samsung ’s 16-megapixel camera sensors.

There are a couple of caveats with this new improved camera sensor. For one, the Nexus 6s rear-facing camera does not support optical image stabilization (OIS), so you’re going to shoot some slightly blurry photos in low light without it, which happened to me a few times. Check out these pumpkins, for instance: 

These pumpkins came out blurry because, as I quickly snapped them in low light, the long exposure allowed my shaky hs to move phone a little while the shutter was open. Optical image stabilization would have helped here, if the Nexus 6had it. 

I’m also a bit bothered by the fact that the rear-facing camera is on auto HDR by default—it’s as if ’s cheating its way into better photos. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love the photos it produced, but I wish there were a live view of it, like on the Galaxy S6 G4’s camera apps, so I can decide whether I want to use it. If you do shoot in HDR, you won’t see the end result until the app is done processing, which can take a few seconds.

I’m happy to report that selfies are better on the Nexus 6 especially since the Nexus 6 performed dismally in our Android phone selfie shootout. The selfies taken with last year’s Nexus made me look either too yellow or too dark. Thankfully, the Nexus 6boasts a fabulous 8-megapixel front-facing camera, which works well in all sorts of environments, though the end result can be a tad shaky in low light.

For those of you wondering about video, the Nexus 6shoots in 4K at 30 frames per second (fps), in slow motion at 120 fps or 240 fps. You can play the video above to get a sampling of how it records outdoors in 1080p at dusk.

The Nexus camera app interface has been overly simplified so that you don’t have to worry about making adjustments before snapping a photo. I like ’s philosophy behind this, though I would have liked to see a manual mode of sorts to set up a long exposure for nighttime shots, for instance.

At least there’s a burst mode, which you can use to make instant GIFs, which are way easier to share with friends than the ione’s silly proprietary ve otos. You can also quickly launch the camera with a double-press of the power button, though it’s not as responsive as the Galaxy S6’s double-press mechanism, you’ll still have to unlock your phone to move beyond the camera application.

Overall, I was really impressed with the Nexus 6s camera performance. It was consistent (even given some of its shortcomings), easy to shoot with, reliably fast. This is easily the best Nexus camera I’ve ever used.

Delicious Marshmallow

I’m going to admit here that I’m not typically an evangelist of the stock Android lifestyle. I’m actually more of an OEM sympathizer, if you’ve followed along with my reviews in the past, you’ve read how I’ve advocated for why skinned Android is sometimes better than stock. However, the Nexus 6has made it really hard for me to switch back to my Touchwiz-laden Galaxy S6 ge. I’m sick of the blue hue I want more of whatever this Nexus has going on.

rt of my renewed love of stock Android has to do with Marshmallow, which is amazing even in all of its plainness. It boasts a ton of new, minor features, all of which have helped make this version of Android seem like the most cohesive ever. You can read the full rundown of Marshmallow in my review.

If you’re not running a stock Android device, you’ll have Marshmallow eventually. But you won’t have access to the ambient display feature that the Nexus 6has, nor can you take advantage of the “always on” Now comms. so, bear in mind that has promised to update its Nexus devices more regularly with security updates support them with software updates for at least two years, whereas some manufacturers are still figuring out their update plans.

Seriously the best Nexus ever

The Nexus 6is a seriously awesome phone I never thought I’d feel this way about a Nexus device. I’m not typically a Nexus person I’ve always looked to other manufacturers to pave the way for the Android ecosystem, but ’s at the tip of the spear now I’m glad to see it.

This amazing phone is also good news for Huawei, which is still looking to make its gr entrance into the U.S. smartphone market with a flagship device. If this Nexus takes off, that’ll be a big win for the Chinese-based company, it can leverage this good will to entice Android enthusiasts toward a Huawei phone next time around.

Of course, the Nexus 6isn’t entirely perfect. It’s missing a few flagship features, like wireless charging OIS. But those aren’t deal breakers. If it’s the pure, premium Android experience you’re looking for, you can hle its larger 5.7-inch size, you’ll want the Nexus 6 And for about $200 less than the current crop of high-end phones, you’re getting a phone directly from that works on any cellular network.