Three years ago I bought my first (!) real smartphone after living with Blackberries for a long time.

I loved my Galaxy Nexus and it served me well for a very long time. Through a combination of stubbornness and my perceived lack of compelling alternative I didn’t bother upgrading. For the last several months, though, my phone has gotten old and worn out, and unable to keep up with the demands of today’s apps and content. Nellie implored me to get a new phone and stop yelling at this one.

I resisted though, holding out for the Nexus 6. I waited patiently (but not really) for the late 2014 release date, then waited while it made its way to Canada. It had the speed, power, camera, and battery life that I craved, but I was always concerned about the size of the phone. A 6-inch screen would make it nearly the size of my Nexus 7 tablet (which I still quite like), not to mention heavy and awkward. I played around with iPhone 6 Pluses and, when I could finally get my hands on one, Nexus 6s. It was as I feared — too big, too heavy, too hard to use with one hand. Maybe I could have gotten used to it, but I didn’t want to chance it.

I ended up picking up a Nexus 5 before Google decommissions them, and frankly it still feels amazing to me. It’s everything I wanted from my old phone but in more or less the same form factor. It was also about $500 cheaper than the Nexus 6, so even if a new device comes out next year I won’t mind paying for it.

Galaxy Nexus, I know I’ve been angry at you this year, but you did yeoman’s work for more than anyone could have expected. You’ve earned a place in the device hall of fame.*

Anyway, out with the old and in with the new and all that. So, without further ado, here is the new(ish) hotness:

* my junk drawer