I just had a samsung galaxy s6 edge die one me, probably because of heat.
I do the usual stuff, navigation, whatsapp, music, video...except I tend to avoid installing apps when the corresponding website works well (but I still have lots of different apps) and the only social media I am connecting to is the fediverse through the browser.
I'm using a Pixel 4a myself, prior to that was a Pixel 2XL and I had about every third Nexus and a few other phones before that as well as a One-Plus phone somewhere in there. My current phone still runs fine, and I'll probably upgrade when the 9a comes out, I do think they're priced more than I would like.
I've tended to like the close to stock experience, but I do turn off all. the assistant features that I can.
I was happily using an iPhone 6S (which is very nearly 9 years old) until recently (when I dropped it and smashed the screen). It definitely wasn't as fast as a modern phone (but it honestly wasn't bad), the camera was much worse, and the battery life wasn't as good. But it some ways it was better: it had a fingerprint reader (modern iphones don't), and it was much smaller and lighter.
I do the usual stuff, navigation, whatsapp, music, video...except I tend to avoid installing apps when the corresponding website works well (but I still have lots of different apps) and the only social media I am connecting to is the fediverse through the browser.