You asked the right guy!
It's an EXCELLENT device for the money. The specs compare to any high end flagship for half the price - if there are negatives they are the slightly inferior camera (compared to Pixel 2 / Galaxy S8) and the lack of a headphone jack.
The software is very nearly stock android so the phone is FAST and updates come very quickly. It's nearly a full-screen phone too, which is neat.
I bought a new phone recently and have been an Android fan for many years. I do not think you need to spend $800 to get an excellent phone. Here are what I'd recommend you looking at for far less and very little sacrifice in performance.
ESSENTIAL - You know this one. Stellar option around $400. Excellent specs. If you are OK with no headphone jack, this is a winner.
ONEPLUS 5T - Lesser known, but modern design, outstanding specs, lean version of Android (so, like Essential, updates are fast and phone is very smooth) and a brand new phone. Has a headphone jack! Released end of November. About $500.
HUAWEI MATE 9 - Released Jan '17 in the US so about a year old, $399 on Amazon. Has a headphone jack and, a monster battery, an excellent camera, and a custom operating system that is simple and very helpful. I ended up buying this one and I've LOVED it. I can get 9hr of screen time over two days before it needs a charge.
Can't go wrong with any of those 3, but I am SHOCKED at how much I am enjoying the Mate 9. I use headphones a lot and didn't want to dick around with a USB-C adaptor, so I wasn't interested in the essential (and I wanted the giant Mate 9 battery.) If you don't ever use headphones, essential could be the way to go.