I did the same ~4 years ago, but it's not really a reason anymore. Apple no longer makes reasonably sized phones, they stopped doing that since the 5s. The SE was a nice surprise at the time (I still use it) but it was always considered a budget phone.

I grabbed the SE before it went out of Apple stock recently and because I also loved the form factor. I ended up upgrading to the XS because the SE would drop calls consistently in my downstairs home office. The XS has to-date never dropped a call for me. Just thought I’d mention it for anyone else who frequents lower signal areas.

I am not surprised.

http://vbn.aau.dk/files/240065248/Mobile_Phone_Antenna_Perfo...

I find it surprising because iPhone SE SAR levels are higher than those of iPhone 6. Actually, at the time of the release, it was the model with the highest SAR levels ever released by Apple.

This quote made it more clear:

> This dramatic difference in head SAR levels is mainly because the transmitter is located at the bottom of Samsung phones rather than at the top, also they incorporate an innovative antenna that transmits the highest intensities of microwave radiation from the lower back of their smartphones.

http://weeksmd.com/2016/01/the-new-smart-phones-are-6x-more-...

Was using wi-fi calling an option?

I like the form factor of my Xperia Compact, sadly with this year model they removed the headphone jack...

By the way, Jolla should be installable on it, if I'm not wrong.

I also like a lot about this phone's hardware (too sad they decided to not continue it), but the stock software on it is quite annoying (glitches, insane loading delays, ads).

You can get Sailfish OS on it for 50€: https://forum.xda-developers.com/x-compact/how-to/sailfish-x...

I currently use an Omni ROM weekly build (Oreo, waiting for Pie). It's so much smoother and less terrible than the stock software.

Sure, this is not "It just works" (and I do like a lot about Apple's design), but I'm also glad it's not "fuck you, we decided this for you, take it".

Omni ROM isn't LineageOS but a binary built from the Sony AOSP right?

Considering I disabled all Sony applications because I have no use for them, with the exception of the keyboard because can't be disabled, Omni ROMs are another option that I hadn't considered. I already dumped the TA partition with the DRM keys many moons ago (I only need to find where I stored it), but I suppose they only work with Android.

I'm tempted by Jolla, but I need a banking OTP generator that only exists on Android and iOS (so Android emulator or another phone)...

I'm not sure if Omni builds on Lineage, but they don't use any closed source Sony stuff, I think.

The open camera drivers bring a great performance increase in shutter response, but a pretty bad decrease in low-light performance.

The build I'm using has some annoying issues like a barely working fingerprint scanner and Bluetooth audio, but even with that it is less irritating than Sony's to me. I assume both are fixable fairly easy (I'm waiting for Pie builds).

The official Sailfish OS builds come with an Android app runtime (Alien Dalvik), I think, but it may be missing some security features.

I'm not sure if it uses the official Sony camera drivers, information about this seems to be conflicting. Maybe both are available, if Sailfish utilizes Android drivers.

Thanks for your experience, I need a quiet weekend to try it then. ^__^;

About Sony official camera drivers, I checked briefly and it looks like they are available only on Android.