This is precisely why myself and my wife are full-on Nexus users.

And this is why I won't attempt to it, since I really don't know what I'm doing. I'd love to use Cyanogenmod but probably won't until I buy a new phone that I feel more comfortable flashing a ROM onto. Looks like I'll just live with crapware for now :)

I have a Sony Xperia Z2 now and I chose the root option instead of the (available) Cyanogenmod install for it since Sony, while being very open to rooting etc., chooses to remove some image enhancement functionality on flashed devices. The root has enabled me to remove a lot of the junk and also install the Xposed framework along with XPrivacy. The latter enables fine-grained control of permissions by app.

Sure it is a bit of work but it depends on how you value your private data. I realize ultimately it might be futile but I am planning to put in as much effort as makes sense to protect my data as best as I know how.

I don't want to go back to a dumbphone. I like having a computer in my hand. But what with privacy, the unsafety of apps, the crapware … what's the point anymore?

I'm pleased with the phone otherwise, and would buy it again.

I don't think Google's new Pixel strategy will work well for them. My opinion is Android is inferior to Apple on almost every dimension and I own an android because it was $400 instead of $1k for iphone (7 is $650 + $100 for more than 32g storage + case + 3-5 headphone cables + applecare + tax). So I was hoping for a Pixel that was a good replacement for my Nexus 5 which just decided that using bluetooth should reboot the phone...

Granted these are more generalizations but they're a bit of a cliche for a reason. Still, the combination of a bit more flexibility and the ability to buy a Nexus (or that one time, a Moto X) for $350-450 instead of $650 and up for an iPhone has kept me in the Android camp for the past several years.

I've also been holding off on replacing my Nexus 5 and will still wait to see just what the word is on these new Pixel phones but I will say that the higher, more iPhone-like price means I'm likely to be less forgiving of minor issues or complaints that I'd just deal with on a device that costs 2/3 as much.

Just as my Asus laptop has a worse screen than a similar Macbook sold at the time but cost $950 instead of $2200 for otherwise similar specs, I have no problem accepting some tradeoffs for the right price. But if that Asus had be marked at $1950 compared to the $2200 Macbook, I might have just gone with the better viewing angles and better support record.

Still, it's all just speculation. We all make our purchasing decisions after we get a chance to evaluate all of the options. Until the devices and reviews show up, it's all a bit premature.

How botched are their security lockdown of their phones compared to the Nexus line?

Can't seem to find a list of CVE's fixed with each update (not in their changelogs, that they only post on the forum...) , based on that, they do not fix known security problems.

Ars Technica has a good summary in their "One year later" review of the Pixel C. The reviewer is on his 3rd Pixel C due to hardware failures. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/one-year-later-can-an...

Google might not remember but nobody bought the Chromebook Pixel or the Pixel C.

Eventually our version of FCC got around making it easy to complain if an operator would make someone's life hard regarding unlocking.

Their advertising is still ridiculously misleading. They say the "Verizon Plan" starts at $35 a month, but that's before activating a device (which is $10 for a tablet and $15 for a phone) and taxes/fees. Cheapest phone is going to be ~$55 per month, it's ridiculous that they emphasize the $35 in their advertising.

I mean with Project Fi the Pixel phones could be a equally attractive deal for Regular Joe but they would still have to advertise it heavily and offer better value through extended updates.

I have a N5, which came out (just) less than three years ago, and it is not getting Nougat, which was released a few weeks ago. The last major update it got was around a year ago.

AFAICT with Google you're guaranteed to get the next OS version, if you're lucky you'll get the next next one (like N5 did with MM), but that's it.

Which, compared to iOS, feels pretty stingy.

(I am no iOS fanboy, but honestly I'm sick of the android expectation of getting a new phone every 2 years, and they seem to be the only ones who are even pretending to give a shit with their old phone support. They still don't give as many shits as I'd like, but I cannot find their better).

If I wasn't so wed to Android the right thing to do would be to buy whatever iPhone was new at the time and ride it down until they stopped providing updates. Especially because (anecdotally, of course) iPhone battery life seems to last much better over time than Android, so not only will I continue to receive updates for longer, but it will actually be a usable phone for longer.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

I believe your overall point remains valid, though. The most recent hardware that can't update to iOS 9 is the iPhone 4, which shipped five years before iOS 9, and was last sold 3 years ago.

What old Nexus line are you talking about?

Most[1] Nexus phones have been priced high at launch with fairly average specs, if not disappointing.

I believe the 6P is the one truly high-end Nexus, and then there's the 5X that was grossly overpriced everywhere but in the US, and finally the Nexus 4 and 5 which were very good deals from the get-go.

[1] Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 6