I am a fan of the Nexus phones, in fact that is what inspired the name of this site. Through a typo a “p” was inserted where the “s” should be, and the rest is history. What I loved about the nexus phones was that I felt it was Google not only challenging the market, but inspiring where smartphones could go. Some would argue that dream died with the Nexus 6.
The area where the nexus suffered was in the camera department. Minus that, we saw Google bring some awesome tech that continues to be used today. An example would be both face unlock and Google Wallet that were introduced in Ice Cream Sandwich with the Galaxy Nexus.
The current Pixel phones feel like it has taken a step back. The camera has gotten better, the software adds a few new things, but the hardware is just “blah”. Insert the One Plus 6t. This phone captures what inspired me to buy nexus phones. It is stock android, but with a few added software additions that adds excitement to the device. Additions such as gestures, Quick launch, and the ability to customize your on screen home buttons (or remove them). These are additions that add to the experience without weighing down the software.
In addition to the software tweaks, they took a gamble with the under screen fingerprint scanner. Though it is not perfect, it does a pretty good job considering. And it feels like a phone that is trying to set the point versus being conservative and waiting for the trend to come to them (a’la Apple).
The biggest way this phone is Nexus-like is in the pricing. For the amount of specs and features in this flagship, it being priced from $549 -$630 is just awesome. The phone feels like you are getting the phone at a steal. This phone, at this price, for these features, makes you as a consumer look at other phone manufacturers sideways (especially Google).
The nexus phones had a reputation of providing a flagship phone that could compete in every aspect with the flagship phones on the market. The hardware was good enough, the software was ahead of the game, and the price made it stand out from the rest of the phones on the market. But the area the nexus phones struggled was in the camera department, as well as think a little outside of the android ecosystem to compete with the trends of Samsung and other flagships. But the One Plus 6t has the stock android software, a decent enough camera to compete with the top phone cameras in the industry, amazing battery life, and the extra software tweaks to compete with what other flagship phones are offering. The phone is priced to challenge the market, and the phone is able to be rooted. This is everything I missed about the Nexus phones and more. And this is why this phone is the nexus I’ve always wanted.
