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superchunk on 10 October 2016
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mutantsushi said:
superchunk said:

I for one am very excited to see this. I loved Nexus phones due to remaining pure Android, no bloatware and carrier unlocked.

Great camera, casing, CPU/GPU, storage, upgrades to Google services, vanilla Android and universally unlocked...

AFAIK, it is NOT universally unlocked, only those bought direct from Google,
they are also selling them thru carriers such as Verizon and ones found in retail stores may likely be Verizon versions.
In these cases, Verizon can "customize" the OS, and is in control of OS updates
 (although they will likely benefit since exact hardware spec is being targetted for updates by Google).

So really, the question is what is specially attractive here vs. Nexus phones or similar near-vanilla phones (e.g. Motorolla as mentioned)
Specific hardware differences per model, but drawing from all manfacturers (Moto, Xiaomi, etc) should close to match any spec.

superchunk said:

Due to the weak point of a SD card connector and the type of SD Card you use, the data transfer ... is noticeable[y weak]. 

Most SD cards are weak.  If performance is important to you, get a high-spec card.  Not really inherent to removable/SD card concept. 
People mentioned Samsung's UFS, and in fact they are introducing removable cards using that spec, with speeds equivalent to SSD.
Certainly, one also needs a high-spec reader to use those fully, but that does not mean that built-in is the only option for performance.

Verizon has always had control of when an update hits its phones with the only exception being Apple. This is partly why Nexus phones were only once sold directly by Verizon. Google wanted Verizon to budge on that like they did for Apple. With Pixel, Google realized it was better to allow Verizon the final approval for updates vs having full control so that they will be on biggest US carrier up front (and others later). But the are no OS changes beyond pre-installed Verizon apps which I'm sure you can delete as you could on last Verizon Nexus. As with any phone on Verizon (or other US carrier) you can pay phone off and ask to be carrier unlocked (even iPhone is carrier locked if you buy directly from that carrier).

Then of course you can buy from Google directly, which is what I was referring to as universally unlocked and the way it will sell internationally.  

I have no interest in buying an SD card. I use Google's services and have never ran out of room with 16GB, don't see why 32GB will be an impact on my usage style. Though I do see why some may find that a benefit, especially if they don't use Google's free services (unlimited backup, unlimited music, etc) to their fullest extent or use a lot of apps. More to the point, regardless of the highest quality SD card you buy, you still have a bigger risk of it failing, slower connection than an internal memory design.