My experience is somewhat similar to yours minus the call related stuff having used a secondary iPhone for work. I find a lot of things that Apple does infuria

My experience is somewhat similar to yours minus the call related stuff having used a secondary iPhone for work. I find a lot of things that Apple does infuriating as a user (I.e. locking an apple account to an iPhone [seriously, how do I login if I ever lose that device?], no CarPlay without Siri, etc...). But, they clearly don't care and they're one of the most valuable tech companies so what do I know? That being said, I realize that a lot of people won't care about power features, options, or customizability. And, if I had to recommend someone with little tech experience (ie parents or grandparents) the iPhone mini would be my recommendation unless they were seeking out something specific. The limitations of iOS in cases like these can be a positive thing sometimes.