I will post a short summary of some things Russ said (not everything, because I do not want to take views away from him). Would you prefer my comments being part of the main post (which was long this time as I asked questions and preferences) or as a response?
Some things Russ said:
— RP3+ still a great machine. May not be the value king any longer just because of so many new devices coming out.
— He still dislikes the start/select placement on this device. I go much farther and absolutely hate it. It’s the reason I gave my 3+ away and got a Flip instead (which, unfortunately, also has some issues).
— He loves the color option, though it is apparently the only color option available for this metal version at this time.
— The metal feels very good. He does not dislike pressing buttons/d-pad against metal the way he has other metal devices.