So, the main split seems to be realistic/simulation-ist/black trench coat style gameplay versus the fantastical/game-ist/pink mohawk style gameplay. And both sides have made some valid points.
One the one hand, we are debating a game that has taken pretty much every major sci-fi and fantasy trope there is, thrown them in a blender with corporate espionage, and poured it all over a dystopian near-future. It makes it hard to say that "reality" is an important factor.
On the other hand, playing a game where difficultly is hand-waived into a generic pool of "+1 advantage" can cheapen the experience for people. And the farther away you go from reality, the harder it is to identify with actions you are taking as a character, and the harder it is to care about the results. And a lot of the time, once players stop caring, they stop playing.
The thing that has stuck out to me, though, is the seeming lack of relativism in the new edition. I get that some modifiers were melted down to streamline gameplay, but it seems that they have been watered down a bit too much.
Take the sniper duel example. The 5th ed path is that both would receive a crap-ton of penalties, to the point that they would need to edge a roll to be able to hit at all. The 6th ed path is that it's a wash on the dice, and both would roll their respective pools because they are at similar disadvantages. In this situation, the 5th ed path seems more logical because both snipers have the same relative disadvantages to deal with. This also extends to things like melee damage. I understand that the devs wanted to streamline weapon stats, but a pixie should not be able to swing a bat like a troll (unless they got some serious mojo).
It doesn't matter how realistic or abstract you make a game, if there is no clear and consistent way to guage the relative difficulty of things like combat, then the experience will feel hollow. And from what has been said so far, it looks like the entire burden of consistency has been dumped on the GM. So they have to abstract with little support from the rules, and the response from a lot of people is to just house rule things. But if you're just going to house rule everything, then why even bother with a new edition?