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Cell Phones: Do as I say, not as I do

This is my standard advice for buying smartphones: Buy an iPhone if you can. If you really want an Android device, buy a Pixel. Try to avoid carrier phones. I recommend this because:
  1. Architecture matters. Apple devices are very locked down. Antivirus is unnecessary on iPhones.
  2. Patch speed matters. You don't want to be stuck waiting for your vendor or cell phone carrier. Apple makes everything, so their process is fast. With Pixel, Google makes the patches, and pushes them to phones quickly.
I recently bought a new cell phone. What did I get? A Sony Experia Compact. Even I didn't follow my own recommendations.

Why? Because even though I'm concerned about security, it's not my only concern. My priorities worked out like this:
  1. Must work with European cell phone frequencies. I actually own a Google Nexus phone, and I love it. Unfortunately, it's a US model, and I was finding myself with no coverage in areas where everyone around me was fine.
  2. Must be available in Switzerland. Google doesn't sell Pixel phones in Switzerland. A lot of the importers seem to be importing the US version rather than the European version. 
  3. Must be Android. I've come to strongly prefer Android to iOS. If I switched back to iPhone, there are a few features that I would really miss, like the ability to use my Yubikey over NFC, or the integration between the browser and my password manager.
  4. Compatible with Swisscom's VoLTE and WiFi Calling systems. Within Switzerland, Swisscom's coverage is a lot better than their competitors, so I have a Swisscom account. Unfortunately, Swisscom's WiFi Calling service is picky and doesn't support many phones (including my Nexus). And, while the coverage is good, it doesn't cover some of the common underground areas like train stations or even grocery stores in the city. Without WiFi calling, I missed a lot of calls. This pretty much meant that I'd have to buy a phone from Swisscom.
  5. If I'm stuck using a carrier phone, I'd like it to be as secure as Android carrier phones can manage. I'd prefer a phone that's as close to stock Android as possible (this tends to result in faster patching), and I'd like it to be a vendor with adequate patch times. (Sony used to be terrible, and they were burned, but they seem to be learning. They're near the top of most patch time ratings lists now.) I've learned from past experience that I really don't like most vendor's Android customizations.
  6. While not a deal breaker, I've moved to USB Type C for all of my other connectors. I'd rather not go back to Micro-USB.
  7. Other preferences: Small is nice. OLED is nice. (Sadly, my new phone does not have an OLED display.)
After weighing the different options, I ended up with a Sony Xperia Compact. There's not too much vendor junk on it, and I was able to disable almost all of it. They seemed to push out patches in a relatively timely manner (although I'm still on the July 1 Android security patch, and it's nearly September).

All in all, I've been pretty pleased with this phone. It works well enough and does what I wanted it to do. I'm a little bit anxious about patching still. I'd move to a Pixel in a heartbeat if I could get one here that worked with Wifi calling. Until then, this phone is fine.

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