Should I root my nexus 6? Some say I should to get better battery life. If I do root, what else should I do to optimize battery life?
The short answer of wether or not you should root is: it depends. By rooting your device, you are technically(*) voiding your warranty. As with any unauthorized access, there is a possibility, either by chance or human error, that your phone could be damaged beyond repair during or after the process. Once your device is rooted, you have unfettered access to just about every aspect of your phone. There have been many, many people who completed the root process, flashed a custom ROM and kernel just fine, and then ruined their phone by altering some hardware level settings that they shouldn't have touched.
With that being said, I encourage everyone I know with Android to root their devices. The reason? It allows you to change and customize your phone to the most miniscule detail you can imagine. You can change fonts, flash ROMs, kernels, change voltage settings to improve battery life/performance, and just about anything else you want to make it truly feel like your own.
The first thing you should do is get on XDA and read this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/how-to-nexus-6-one-beginners-guide-t2948481
It will answer most of your questions about the process, guide you through step by step, and help you get started in customizing your phone.
If you decide to follow through, there are many ways to optimize battery life. The easiest is to just turn your screen brightness down, which you don't actually need root to do. You could also flash a custom kernel like Franco's Kernel, which is already optimized for battery life. There are custom ROMs that are light weight and meant to save on battery power as well, but by and large the difference is negligible between the most popular. You can edit voltage settings, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you can follow instructions
to the tee and are comfortable with the command line in case something bad happens.
I say that all to say this: you might not need root. If you are perfectly happy with your phone, you don't have to go spend hours learning the inner workings of Android for a boost in performance. At the end of the day, you are the one who has to use the phone and take on the risk of rooting. Think about it and choose wisely.
*you can reset your phone to factory settings, including the "flash count" which is a flag that many android devices use to tell whether or not you've tampered with your phone after returning it to stock. It's usually a pretty painful process, but it can certainly be done. While the warranty would still technically be voided, if they have no way of knowing...*kanye shrug*
Going to try and see if I can get snapprefs to work with kitkat.
