[Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] d4ndr0id:
I had both, Nexus 6 HANDS DOWN!

I just switched from the Note 4 (snapdragon) to Nexus 6.

First off, 2 years ago i was deciding between these two devices and I chose the note 4 because I didn't want to give up the s pen or and the LED notification light. However as android evolved from kitkat to marshmallow, I ran into major problems with rooting. Note 4 ran best on kitkat. Once I went lolipop I had to disable SecurityLogAgent via systemapp remover in order to salvage my root otherwise knox would bootloop. I also found that once I went MM, I ran into some pretty big problems such as mmc read fail errors, boot loops, screen not waking up, the list goes on. I bought a few new batteries as well to rule out that possibility. Now some of these could have been hardware related as I did wipe out on my bike quite a few times with the phone in my pocket (otterbox commuter case), but from what I've been reading, I wasn't the only note 4 user with these issues. I honestly believe the knox bootloader and knox software deliberately screws up your device if you root. It got to the point where I smashed my note 4. My note 4 wouldn't even wake up and activate my alarm clock, to wake me up! unreliable! No matter what I tried, even running it on bone stock, the same problems kept happening. I did not bother downgrading back to loli, or kitkat because I wanted to keep the latest security updates.

Performance & First Impressions

I got the Nexus 6 as a temporary phone since I was considering going Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra. Yet once I held the Nexus 6, and analyzed how it is bone stock, I instantly fell in love with the device. I like the slight bulk at the back of the phone which adds a good feel in my hand. I don't like thin phones. They are very slippery. A plus to Motorola for this ergonomic design. Good weight and a great feel.

Not only are the direct OTA updates from google so CLEAN, but you get the latest of the latest! Android 7 Nougat is bloody amazing!!! holy %#$#$^%! You can't get any cleaner stock rom than the google OTA releases. Literally half a page of apps installed in your app drawer.

The true beauty of this device is how easy it is to root/modify/customize. Once you unlock the bootloader, you're good to go. No knox or any 3rd party app screwing with your stuff.

Both are snapdragon 805 but the Nexus is clocked way higher. The Nexus also has a better screen. Larger, higher PPI and I think it's brighter too. Front facing stereo speakers are quite nice. The little speaker on the back of the note 4 is no comparison. Games run better on the Nexus 6 due to a higher clocked CPU.

With root, you can activate the hidden LED notification light behind the top speaker. You cant get it to blink though, but I'm okay with a solid light.

So what does the Note 4 have over the Nexus 6?

Note 4 battery life is definitely better. Note 4 camera is also better. Nexus 6 has zero image stabilization. The Note 4 also has external storage (micro SD slot) where the Nexus 6 relies on 32gb (or 64gb model) internal storage only plus whatever space you have on your google drive. Note 4 has removable back, easier to replace the battery although it isn't too hard to do on the Nexus 6.

Repairing

I've taken my Note 4 apart at least 3 times and boy what an annoying task it is. You see, samsung designs their phones in ways where if the user attempts to open them, you risk severely damaging your samsung phone. The older samsung models didn't have this problem. For the note 4, you risk tearing a a few ribbons and your antenna if you don't pry the screen from the bezel properly and very carefully. You have to know where these ribbons are prior to opening the Note 4. Note 4 screen replacement is also very annoying and you need new adhesive to re-seat the screen properly after disassembly. So basically, You really don't want to take your Note 4 apart unless you really have to.

The Nexus 6 however, is super easy. The back is just a sticker held by adhesive. Once that comes off it's just like the older phone designs. After few screws you have easy access to the battery, and very easy screen replacement. The only ribbon you have to worry about when prying off the back sticker is the one connected to the battery. You have to be in pretty deep to hit it though in my opinion.

Conclusion

When I was choosing between these two devices two years ago, I should have gone with the Nexus 6 instead, period. I plan to use a custom kernel with CPU governor in attempts to de-clock the CPU for certain profiles in order to gain more battery life. Nexus 6 battery life is quite bad within heavy usage. Other than that, the Nexus 6 is the best power-user phablet you could possibly own as of this day.