Yes, that was always the draw of the Nexus and Pixel lines. "Vanilla Android." Really hope that's still the case, though I've switched back to iPhone for a number of reasons.
I used to buy Nexus phones and jailbreak them for SU root privileges so I could deny apps (mostly by google) from using permissions without my consent on app launch.
With that being said, I'll be switching to an iPhone for privacy reasons, starting with my next phone and I've been a loyal Android user since Google started with the G1. How times have changed...
With that being said, I'll be switching to an iPhone for privacy reasons, starting with my next phone and I've been a loyal Android user since Google started with the G1. How times have changed...