Every Friday for well over a year, we’ve expressed our team’s thoughts on various Android-related issues in a feature series we call Friday Debate. Generally speaking, the format has changed very little since its inception. This week, however, we’re switching things up a little bit.

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While we’ll still focus on one topic and post responses from our team members, we also are now involving the community as well! Ahead of this article, we asked our forum users the question “What do you consider the best smartphone of the year? Do you have a favorite tablet?” And we received quite a few solid responses. While all the responses were well thought out and worth reading (click here to see them all), we’ll showcase two of the responses that we really felt stood out:

Google Nexus 6. Why? Because it’s just awesome.

First of all, it comes with stock Android 5.0 Lollipop right out of the box, with future proof capabilities. This means that you won’t only be first to get Lollipop, but you’ll also get other Android updates in the future. And that’s what I like the most about the Nexus 6.

I was a really big fan of Samsung. I had their Galaxy S3, which at the time was probably the best phone to get. I was more than disappointed when they announced that the S3 I9300, one of Samsung’s best selling flagship smartphones, wasn’t getting an update to KitKat. So knowing that there’s a smartphone out there that will get stock android updates, instead of depending on third parties custom ROMS and launchers, gives me some sort of peace of mind.

Then comes the 13MP camera. From the Shootout done by Android Authority’s Joshua Vegera, the picture qualities are pretty impressive. Maybe not the best, but good enough for me to want to have the phone. I am also interested in the phone’s front facing speakers. Maybe they aren’t as premium as HTC’s, but they seem to produce excellent quality.

Another thing that impressed me about the Nexus 6 is it’s battery life and fast charging capabilities. If I can get at least 6-8 hours of a lot of usage on any device, think that’ll work wonders for me.

The only deterrent I have in regards to the Nexus 6 is the pricing. But considering it’s premium qualities and capabilities compared to other flagship devices from it’s competitors, I think it’s worth the extra cash.

For me, the best power house phone of the year is a toss up between the Droid Turbo, the Note 4, and the Nexus 6. If I had to pick just one however, I would probably end up going with the Note 4 (I’m just going to write off Droid Turbo now because you can only get it through Verizon, ewwww). Please bear in mind though that the Nexus 6 is extremely competitive with the Note 4 in my eyes, also I do not own either phone so this is just speculation based off of what I’ve read.

For starters I think the screen size on the Note 4 is better than the Nexus 6. Six inches of real estate screen space is a lot, and takes some getting used to. I have medium sized hands so I think I could manage, but I could certainly see people with smaller hands struggling to use it. In terms of specs, both phones are very similar as well: both have 2K displays, Snapdragon 805 processors, and large batteries that can get you through the day. Samsung also has its signature removable battery and expandable storage. The Nexus 6 does have better sounds quality thanks to its front facing speakers, and I hate how most OEMs put their speakers on the back or bottom. However, it’s not necessarily as huge of a selling point for me personally because I would probably have some in ear headphones on a good amount of the time.

On the other hand, what is a huge selling point for me is that camera. Both phone lines have done a lot to increase the quality of their cameras over the years, however I think the Note 4 does take the edge from various photos I’ve seen on the web. OIS seems to work pretty well on the Note 4. I also kind of like my photos a bit over saturated most of the time, and I think the HDR shots come out better on Samsung’s phone as well. It comes with the S Pen as well, which is a cool little gimmick and a great asset to artists or people who love to multitask.

Not having Lollipop out of the box is of course a downside, although in a few months I believe that will be a moot point. I know that doesn’t change the here and now, but in retrospect it’s not quite as big of an issue. Not getting updates immediately is a downside, however. Overall both phones are amazing and either one could easily be seen as better. They both have their pros/cons and honestly I could see myself changing my opinion to the Nexus 6 in the future because that’s just how close they are in my eyes!

What Team AA has to say

Now that you’ve had a look at what some of our community members think, it’s time for Team AA to weigh in:

Jonathan Feist