can’t say about the ads in samsung apps

I use the S23 ultra, it can get though the full day, standby with screen off doesn’t take up much battery. e.g. charged to 100%, woke up after 8 hours, phone is at 93-95%

shutter lag is still a thing, you have to go into certain settings to prioritize speed over quality.

family grew up with it

better customization and user abilities

ability to emulate old consoles

more innovative/experimental (fold, spen, 100X zoom camera)

If you can, I’d try to get you at least a flagship from a few years ago. maybe the S10 or the S20. a flagship from a few years ago should beat out a budget phone from 1-2 years ago. Plus, if you have a US carrier, you will have a higher trade-in value with the S series vs the A series.

a good start is the samsung s23

or the s23 ultra if you want one of the best cameras, and the spen

or the Z fold3 or Zfold 5 (i started using a used Zfold 2, the big screen and multitasking is very cool)

current promo with verizon is $800 off on a mid-high tier plan, with a mid-high tier trade-in (unfortunately, the iphone 8 is a low tier phone, but you could get a mid tier $100 pixel 4a or a nokia 8 V 5g, and use those as a trade-in)

I swim in the pool with my watch 4. it should be fine.

although if its ocean water, I’d probably take it off.