I'm tempted to order the Nexus 5X. I'm not blown away by the device, but this desire is coming more from my growing urge to move off the Moto X 2014, and no, I'm not going back and buying an older Nexus.
There's a good chance it might have simply been defective, but the Nexus 5 was the worst phone I'd ever had. The GPS simply didn't work. It pretended to work, which tempted you to use it, but it would flat out stop updating your position and give you no notification that it has done so.
I'm part of the small phone camp, but I'd already given up a lot of ground by getting the Moto X. The 5X is only .15" bigger at this point, offers Marshmallow out of the box, moves me on to USB C (yay!), and has a nice camera. I'm also really disappointed by the resale value of the Moto X. Gonna have to sell it while I can get something reasonable for it.
It's not a drastic difference, but I got mid-to-high $200s for my Nexus 4 and 5 when I sold them. Auction prices for the Moto X 2014 are in the low 200s, but it was significantly more expensive than the 4 and 5 when I purchased it, so it hasn't retained that value at all.
Good enough that over six years, it is actually cheaper to upgrade and sell every year vs every two years. If you compare to upgrading every three years, an annual upgrade costs you less than $100 over the full six years.
Compare this to people who don't realize their old phone has any resale value at all, and throw it in the back of a drawer. A two year old iPhone is still going to get you $200.
My Nexus 4 has served me well these past few years. I just learned that it won't be receiving the 6.0 update. So now may be the time to consider the Nexus 5x but after hearing Rym's thoughts about it maybe I should look into buying the 6P instead.
Wouldn't a case solve problems 1 and 3? As for 2 I don't personally see it it being an issue with having to use both hands. Plus there is a lot that can be done hands free using "Ok Google"
How? The problem is it's big. It swings around. It's now too big to wear on your arm with a band like smaller phones afforded. In a running pack, it barely fits, or else you have to wear a huge running pack and it's banging against your back. It's large, so it restricts your movement almost anywhere you put it.
A case would just make all those problems worse.
Being larger, it's also more prone to impacts and bending stress. I could easily keep my Nexus 4 in my pocket while rock climbing with little issue. The 5 BARELY fits, and actually restricts my movement. Larger phones are likely to be cracked or bent, so I would have to leave them behind.
As for 2... Reading a web page or an article? Browsing the web? One arm on the subway bar, one arm holding up the phone. Voice control doesn't help in ANY public place (people hate it when you start talking to yourself loudly). It's not like you can say "Scroll, scroll, scroll..."
A case doesn't really help with carrying at all. It's still large and has to go somewhere.
I have more issues than I thought I would with the iPhone 6 and being able to operate with one hand. It took me a while to realize there is actually a phone feature that is supposed to help with reaching buttons but it's just annoying to remember to have to use.
The idea that a phone or small tablet would require two hands for basic use is amazing to me. It speaks to how immobile most people are day-to-day.
I use my phone standing on trains/platforms, walking, running, biking, eating... I use it in crowded public places on a daily basis. It's portable: that's the whole point. If I was just using it sitting in cafes or at home, I'd have a full-on tablet.
I hadn't consider riding a subway. You needing a free hand to hold on the rail and what not. I can't help feel you are being bit hyperbolic on this though. However I haven't owned or played around with a bigger phone than my Nexus 4.
I have a strict policy against phones larger than 4". My fingers are a bit short, so that's the largest screen where my thumb can comfortably reach anywhere without my hand moving at all. The only time I use two hands is occasionally for typing, but even that's pretty rare now that I use Swiftkey.
I hadn't consider riding a subway. You needing a free hand to hold on the rail and what not. I can't help feel you are being bit hyperbolic on this though. However I haven't owned or played around with a bigger phone than my Nexus 4.
I run miles a day. The Nexus 5 is already at the very edge of being too big to wear on my arm. It barely fits in my running pack. The 5X literally won't fit in the latter (I'd need to buy an even bigger one), and is too big to wear safely on the former. And the 5X is still a relatively small phone by current standards...
Have you ever been rock climbing? I am being far from hyperbolic in that regard.
Biking, I'll flip my phone out of my bike pocket to check a map while cruising or at a light. Larger phones are too big to put back there without a danger of them flying out, and one-handed operation, even when stopped, is an absolute must.
Even with the Moto X, I'm finding I have to take extra care when handling my phone. The act of flipping it around, front to back, can be done one-handed, but I don't trust myself to do it in a rush w/o dropping the phone one or two times over its lifetime. My goal is to never drop my phone. I'm not putting it in a case, and I expect it to not ever touch the ground.
As it stands, I don't exactly have Rym-esque use cases, so I'm begrudgingly willing to compromise and accept something in the size class of the Moto X (2014) and the Nexus 5X in order to get modern OS, better camera, etc.
Just so you know, the Apple Watch has solved pretty much all the problems I have with my iPhone 6 being a bit big. It was never a big problem, except for things like running and being active.
Having notifications on my wrist when running is a great, because I can dismiss them with a flick. And fitness stuff showing right There on the wrist is great.
By maps! Directions on the wrist without having to take my phone out of my pocket is amazing. Walking around Venice, where navigation even with a map is crazy, I could just walk. Taps on my wrist for turn left, right or go straight. It was one of those living in the future moments. Sure, we've had navigation in cars for a decade, but for someone who walks, runs and bikes a lot, it's like rediscovering all this stuff anew. And it's really good.
Sure. Thankfully my phone is still in my pocket. And the 6 is the right size that I can still use it one handed. Just. Not when running or biking like I did with my 4S. The watch is just for when I'm too active for stress-free one handed use.
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There's a good chance it might have simply been defective, but the Nexus 5 was the worst phone I'd ever had. The GPS simply didn't work. It pretended to work, which tempted you to use it, but it would flat out stop updating your position and give you no notification that it has done so.
I'm part of the small phone camp, but I'd already given up a lot of ground by getting the Moto X. The 5X is only .15" bigger at this point, offers Marshmallow out of the box, moves me on to USB C (yay!), and has a nice camera. I'm also really disappointed by the resale value of the Moto X. Gonna have to sell it while I can get something reasonable for it.
Compare this to people who don't realize their old phone has any resale value at all, and throw it in the back of a drawer. A two year old iPhone is still going to get you $200.
1. Difficult to carry when running/skiing/biking/etc...
2. Not easily used in one hand
3. Easily bent/broken in pockets
A case would just make all those problems worse.
Being larger, it's also more prone to impacts and bending stress. I could easily keep my Nexus 4 in my pocket while rock climbing with little issue. The 5 BARELY fits, and actually restricts my movement. Larger phones are likely to be cracked or bent, so I would have to leave them behind.
As for 2... Reading a web page or an article? Browsing the web? One arm on the subway bar, one arm holding up the phone. Voice control doesn't help in ANY public place (people hate it when you start talking to yourself loudly). It's not like you can say "Scroll, scroll, scroll..."
I have more issues than I thought I would with the iPhone 6 and being able to operate with one hand. It took me a while to realize there is actually a phone feature that is supposed to help with reaching buttons but it's just annoying to remember to have to use.
I use my phone standing on trains/platforms, walking, running, biking, eating... I use it in crowded public places on a daily basis. It's portable: that's the whole point. If I was just using it sitting in cafes or at home, I'd have a full-on tablet.
Have you ever been rock climbing? I am being far from hyperbolic in that regard.
Biking, I'll flip my phone out of my bike pocket to check a map while cruising or at a light. Larger phones are too big to put back there without a danger of them flying out, and one-handed operation, even when stopped, is an absolute must.
As it stands, I don't exactly have Rym-esque use cases, so I'm begrudgingly willing to compromise and accept something in the size class of the Moto X (2014) and the Nexus 5X in order to get modern OS, better camera, etc.
Also every major European city. Sydney/Melbourne.
Basically all modern cities.
Having notifications on my wrist when running is a great, because I can dismiss them with a flick. And fitness stuff showing right There on the wrist is great.
By maps! Directions on the wrist without having to take my phone out of my pocket is amazing. Walking around Venice, where navigation even with a map is crazy, I could just walk. Taps on my wrist for turn left, right or go straight. It was one of those living in the future moments. Sure, we've had navigation in cars for a decade, but for someone who walks, runs and bikes a lot, it's like rediscovering all this stuff anew. And it's really good.