For Christmas I got a Samsung 52A. Since then, I have practically stopped using my laptop. I use the laptop for videos and movies as it is a 17" screen with a DVD player.
Google Maps or Waze works great in Mexico, Whatsapp (free) is the best way to communicate including voice, video and text. You can send photos, maps, your current location, communicate to anyone in any country. We just got back from Spain and we used the phone for reservations on Airbnb, gas stations, train and subway tickets, etc. I can only imagine what an iPhone might be like.