Phone for No. 1 Daughter

The Sony Xperia XA1 uses eMMC (embedded multi-media cards) memory which is slower than UFS (Universal Flash Storage). UFS 2.0 is usually much faster for random reads and a bit better for random writes. UFS is meant to be comparable to SSDs.

The microSD card you have bought will tell you what spec it is. If it's 32GB it will be SDHC rather than SDXC. It will have a class (yours is fairly new so probably a 10 which is shown in a circle) and the higher the class the faster. It will also have an ultra high speed (UHS) bus classification and even a video speed classification.

Until you run out of space. My 16GB 6 is annoying me, which is why I'm shopping for a 128GB replacement.

Works for me - with enough storage anyway. I got my first iPhone in 2009, well before there was Android, so I've grown with it, albeit at least a generation behind each time. The 4S was great; I still use a de-SIMmed one as a container for Deezer and BBC downloads to play in the car.

On VAT reclaim, all I know is the queues of Koreans and similar that I see at the desk at Heathrow. No idea what the rules are, but I imagine you might have to be over 18 to make a claim. Might make a difference what passport you're carrying, too. I'm speculating, of course, but these would be things to check.

Edit: official words here. No mention of either of my concerns.
www.gov.uk/tax-on-shopping/taxfree-shopping

Because those of us who do live in the UK will have to make it up out of our taxes instead? 🤑

And yes, I do know the history of the iPhone. Did you read the bit about staying a generation behind? 😉 My first was a 3G, just before the 3GS appeared.

I have a 2G and a 4 on the desk in front of me. I vowed to leave iphone when apple decided, without my approval, to update me with U2 music which couldn't be removed. The 4 has been jailbroken and turned into an ipod

Roughly 11% of the world's smart phones run iOS, and around about 88% run Android.

In the first quarter of this year, Samsung alone captured 26% of sales compared to Apple's 17%.

Apple where they have been for as long as I can remember; making quite a good product which is expensive and restrictive and thus appeals to only a small portion of the market and is incompatible with everything.

The components in an iPhone 7 costs about £160 (today's exchange rate). Add on some money for transportation and assembly and you have a good profit margin.