Confession: I am no longer using the Galaxy S6 ge as my daily driver. I bought a fancy gold-colored one after posting my review back in April with the intent of using it until something better came along, probably in a year or so. And then the Nexus 6/a> came along. The gold just wasn’t enough to keep the ge in my back pocket.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for Samsung’s flagship in my life. It was my phone every day from April until October. Here’s how it’s held up over time, why my SIM no longer lives in its tray.

It takes a little tweaking

Here’s the thing about Samsung’s smartphones: There’s a bit of prep work involved before you can use one as your daily driver. In my case, I swapped out Samsung’s Touchz for the uncher Samsung’s keyboard for the stock Android one. I went through the entire applications list to disable Verizon’s bloatware. I banned Samsung’s browser, too, replaced it with Chrome, I told Samsung’s app store to wait for me before it installs any updates.

I don’t hate Touchz. If you recall, I initially wrote that this year’s rendition is better than it has been in the past. I even grew to love the crowded Quick settings bar I previously rued because of how much I could stuff up there. I also like the fact that you can quickly close all tasks in the application switcher that the camera app is user friendly.

However, I still think Samsung should pare down on how much stuff it bundles with its devices. I don’t need Microsoft’s Office applications preinstalled on my device, I’m sick of Verizon asking me to use its maps application. And while I appreciate all the free stuff, like 100GB of OneDrive space six months of The Economist, I’d rather trade those in for just a bit more storage space on my 32GB device.

Debloating Touchz would also help the Galaxy S6 with its overall usability. en I first set up the S6 ge, it was blazing fast applications launched quickly. Then I started downloading more apps, which inevitably resulted in even more notifications pushing through compared to the initial review period, that just seemed to slow everything down. I specifically recall the phone freezing up in the middle of turn-by-turn navigation. I had to pull over my car to restart the phone. I yelled a lot. Driving diagnosing a sluggish Android device is not safe.

I don’t know exactly why my Galaxy S6 ge has become so much slower. My own anecdotal experience leads me to believe it has to do with the memory management issues that were rampant shortly after the phone’s release. I haven’t been able to confirm whether Verizon sent out a fix for that in this summer’s Android 5.1.1 update, either. At the very least, it’s not like the Galaxy S6 ge is slow sluggish all the time, but when it’s processing a few things at a time, it struggles to keep up with how quickly I expect it to move.

Still the best point–shoot

The Galaxy S6 is still one of the best camera phones on the market. It has a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera with an aperture of f/1.9 auto real-time HDR capabilities. Samsung is so proud of it, it put the same sensor on the Galaxy S6 ge+ Galaxy Note 5, which arrived months later.

The only smartphone that’s manage to edge by the Galaxy S6’s camera is the G4, but that phone is a bit too big for me. The S6’s smaller size means that it’s a camera I can easily take anywhere, which is why I pop my SIM inside when I know I’ll need a proper point–shoot device on h. It fits easily inside the smallest of my purses, its fantastic low-light performance means it snaps some of the best bar selfies with my pals. I also don’t have to worry about it falling out of my jacket or bulking up my pants pockets like I do with the larger Nexus 6

Battery life is inconsistent

Battery life was so good on the Korean variants of the Galaxy S6 S6 ge I originally reviewed. Our benchmarks told the story of a pair of phones that could outlast other high-end phones. But, when I brought home my Verizon version of the S6 ge, I had a decidedly different experience.

The Galaxy S6 ge usually teeters around 30 percent in the early evening, after ten hours off the charger. I have to constantly remember to charge my phone before I leave the office so that I have enough juice to listen to a podcast on my commute home. If I don’t do that, I whip out the portable battery pack I’m carting around plug the phone into that. It’s a frustrating dance to perform.

My life with the Nexus 6 Marshmallow’s Doze mode is much different. I typically leave my phone untouched on the desk for hours at a time, at some point the Nexus 6kicks into Doze. en dusk arrives, I pick up the phone see it’s somewhere between 60 70 percent charged, depending on how much I used it in the morning. I haven’t had to charge the 6at work or plug it into an external battery pack before leaving the office. I’m hoping Doze will eventually have the same effect on Samsung’s smartphones once it seeds out a Marshmallow upgrade.

The Galaxy S6 ge does have one first-world luxury I don’t have with Nexus 6 that’s wireless charging. I love being able to plop the phone down on the Tylt Vu keep it charged up throughout the day. And its fast charging capabilities make it so that I’m not waiting around to juice it up.

so, I like the power saving modes that Samsung’s software offers— this is an example where Samsung adds value in additional features, but shouldn’t need to change Android’s interface to do so. ile on a family vacation in Minnesota over the summer, I left the Galaxy S6 ge in Ultra wer Saving Mode for several days. There weren’t many power outlets to share, but I still wanted to keep my phone on in case anyone back home needed me. The Ultra wer Saving mode dumbed the phone down to its most basic offerings ensured my parents my best friend could still text or call me, without the cellular stby eating up my battery life.

I’m lucky it hasn’t shattered

I love the metal glass construction of the Galaxy S6 ge—It’s basically been the premium design stard I’ve held other flagship phones to this year. However, it’s not the most durable device. It’s definitely seen some wear tear just by being in my bag every day. I’ve also dropped it a few times if it weren’t for the case, I think it would have fared much worse. The case only covers the backside, though, you can see scratches scuff marks along the metal edge. I’m glad the Galaxy S6 ge has remained in one piece all the time, but I also take a little more caution with it than I did my HTC One M8, for instance. The glass gold combination is too nice to ruin.

Still the best Samsung flagship

The Samsung Galaxy S6 S6 ge are still two of the best phones to come out this year, though I’m hoping that next year the company focuses less on bundling its devices with software app specials, sticks closer to the stard Android interface design. In a phone that costs $700, the company can afford to let marketing bundle deals go, should at least sell an unlocked bloatware-free version online. It should instead focus on the sort of unique features that add real value, like Samsung y, camera features, wireless charging that supports both Qi A stards.

Regardless of the memory management issues—which some carriers have fixed through a software update— the inconsistent battery life, I keep the Galaxy S6 ge charged up updated so that I can switch it to it when I need a capable smartphone camera in tow. Its smaller size is also better for travel. I bring along a laptop the Galaxy Tab S2 with me everywhere I go anyway, the smaller size of the Galaxy S6 ge ensures it stays in my pockets on the plane so I can keep it on my person for the entirety of the flight.

However, I recognize that I’m in a particularly privileged position given that it’s my job to switch between Android devices. I can choose to toss aside Samsung’s phone for a Nexus device if I want to, whereas most people are stuck with one choice for a couple years. The good news is that if you have a Galaxy S6 or S6 ge on you, there’s no need to swap it out in a panic. But until the Marshmallow update comes through, I’m staying with the Nexus 6 Once you Doze, you can’t go back.