Flaws in Google's latest smartphone made me switch back to iPhone
Well, I went back.
The Galaxy S6's poor battery life wasn't cutting it anymore, and Samsung's "skin," or software layer on top of Android slows down the phone's performance.
But before I went back to the iPhone, I tried Google's Nexus 6P. It runs pure Android, which is better than any of the phone makers' skins, and it gets all the latest updates from Google as soon as they're released. Other phones from LG, Samsung, and HTC can take months to get Google's updates.
While using the Nexus, I'd occasionally switch to an iPhone 6S Plus to try out new iOS features, and then I'd go back to the Nexus. But every time I returned to the Nexus, I grew more and more frustrated by how easy it is to accidentally press the volume and power buttons, as well as activating the fingerprint reader by mistake. I didn't get that frustration with the iPhone.
So, until the next crop of iPhones and Nexus phones come out, the iPhone 6S Plus will be occupying my palms and pockets.
To be clear, my decision to go with the iPhone has nothing to do with the iOS versus Android. In fact, I still prefer the Android operating system. But I'm also perfectly happy using iOS, and I went with the iPhone's hardware and design because it didn't frustrate me like the Nexus did.
The Nexus 6P pushes my buttons
The volume and power buttons on the Nexus 6P stick out more than any other phone I've tried this year. If they're going to protrude that much, they need to offer some resistance. But they barely offer any resistance and are way too easy to press.
I constantly press them by mistake and change the volume while listening to music whether the phone is in my pocket or just holding it. And accidentally pressing the power button wakes the screen, which can wreak havoc inside a pocket with all those inadvertent taps and swipes.
The mushiness of the buttons wouldn't be such a big deal if they were further up the side of the phone, like they were on the Nexus 5. That way I could hold the phone without touching the buttons at all. But they're smack bang in the middle of the Nexus 6P's right side, which makes it nearly impossible to hold the phone securely without pressing them.
The iPhone's buttons don't protrude nearly as much, and they offer enough resistance so that I don't press them by accident.
The fingerprint reader
I'm actually a great fan of the fingerprint reader being on the back of the Nexus 6P. As my colleague Ben Gilbert said about the Nexus 5X he's using, laying your finger on the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone is more natural than contorting your thumb to touch the iPhone's fingerprint reader in its home button.
But my fingers constantly brush against the reader by mistake when it's in my pocket or holding it, which makes the phone constantly vibrate and/or unlock itself when I don't want it to.
It wouldn't be a problem if the Nexus 6P's fingerprint reader was also a button, like it is on the iPhone and the LG V10. That way, I would only be able to unlock the Nexus 6P if I wanted to by pressing that button.
Nothing is final
This is not to say that I've suddenly become an iPhone fanboy and that I'm abandoning Android or Google's Nexus smartphones. I'll move back to the next Nexus if it has better buttons (and has a great camera and continues to run pure Android). But until then, I'll stick with the iPhone.