I got off the flagship treadmill with this purchase. I've previously owned nearly every new Galaxy model. The increase in cost was simply ridiculous and I decided to send my S8+ to a relative. I need a phone to make calls. This one does so incredibly well. I don't know if it has a better antenna, or the circuitry is streamlined, but I get signal in places I didn't before. Not an extra 'bar fakeout' on the screen, I can actually make/complete calls in habitual locations that I couldn't before. I honestly can't tell the difference in the lesser processor speed. I use Adobe on my phone quite a bit and I don't play games, so those are really the only things where I suppose I would notice a slow down. I've yet to experience any prolonged waits. I was worried about the storage space. With no SD slot, I thought I'd max my storage. Not even close. In fact, the fixed storage (64gb) helped me get off my butt and clean out old apps I never use anymore. I'm sure others may need extra space and will disagree, but I certainly don't have an issue with it. The camera. It's just the best. I take a lot of photos and videos. This camera is exceptional. The night modes and time lapse functions are exponentially better than the Galaxy line. Ease of use. Most of my stuff is parked on Drive and OneDrive. The interoperability with everything is fantastic and I'm so glad to be rid of Samsung bloat. Zero issues with accessing OneDrive and the suite of Office products I use. It's seamless. Maps, Drive, Assistant, etc just work better on a Google phone. Battery life is stellar. The power saving mode routinely will allow for 24hrs of light to medium use. The quick top up charge they advertise is no gimmick. It works. Privacy. Google seems to be taking privacy issues seriously. The CEO is driving this and I fully believe the market will begin demanding it. I'm hoping this trajectory continues. Value. I got the phone for 300.00 flat and they threw in a Google Mini for my home assistant setup. I don't know how that can be beat? No leasing nonsense and run on, confusing financing crap. I leased my S8+ and the experience disgusted me. When I got a hairline crack in the screen, the quote to replace it was 298.00 before taxes. Give me a break! It's a great little phone that does all I need it to do at a price that is hard to beat. If that's what you're looking for, go check one out. I'm definitely a convert.