It drives me nuts as well that the two key features I think of when I think of a phone -- long battery life and HAND HELD (singular) -- seem to be incompatible

It drives me nuts as well that the two key features I think of when I think of a phone -- long battery life and HAND HELD (singular) -- seem to be incompatible with anything like stock android. The original Moto X was pretty close, but it just feels like we're going backwards now. I do not understand what market pressure is causing this.