The infrared thing sounds pretty cool.
I remember ring-tones were a big deal, and on my LG enV2 there was a sort of app store with terrible apps. But the main thing on there were wallpapers and ringtones. We used to even make our own.
My first smartphone was the iPhone 4. I still have it, and it's so tiny. Like the size of a credit-card. I got it for one dollar because Apple would do that with their oldest phones to move the inventory and get people hooked I guess.
My next phone was a Sony Xperia Z3V XL. I wanted the smaller version, but only the XL was on Verizon. People made fun of me for having such a huge phone, but within a year or so everyone had big phones.
Android was everything I wanted my iPhone to be. I could transfer files from my computer to my phone, and that included my music.
With iPhone you could only move files through iTunes, and it "de-activated" a ton of my songs because I guess they were originally purchased through iTunes but I had gotten them via p2p/torrents. Today though there are iPhone features that I wouldn't mind having over Android.
I never got much into Apple stuff and I found iTunes annoying when I had to use it. I've had various Android devices, but I don't go for the top end models. That gets expensive if you upgrade every few years.
Aside from the Sony, I've had Google Pixel phones which are pricey but you pay for them each month for 2 years or something. The main thing I worry about with the phone is the camera, and Pixels usually have a good camera.