I need to purchase a phone

My Samsung Note 9 has served me well over the last two years and I feel it is now time to upgrade as I have begun to face a few issues. Repairing phones is quite a costly proposition here in the UAE, and one is not sure of the outcome either, so I guess a new phone it will be. Went to see if I could have it repaired two days ago. The technician in the first shop had one look at the phone, smiled sarcastically, looked me in the eye and told me, in no uncertain terms & rather brazenly, to throw it out and purchase a new phone. The man in the adjoining shop also smiled, though in a gentler manner, and told me he could repair it for the tidy sum of seven hundred dirhams, but he could not give any guarantee as to how long it would last. I was more inclined to believe the first chap despite his brash demeanour. The second appeared a trifle slimy and I could tell he was lying. I walked out from both shops thanking them for their help. I am polite by nature and it takes a lot to ruffle me. Meanwhile, have also been asking around and while some say that I should stick with Samsung, which is very reliable, others are advising me to shift to Apple- supposedly a world class phone. The way they say ‘Apple’ almost makes me feel like a peasant. People who know me well also know that I hate to be rushed into anything & that I am prone to take my time with such purchases. (TM and SM, I hope you are taking note) And this is where I am in a bit of a quandary. I know there is a big ongoing debate on Samsung vs Apple, and both have their supporters and detractors. However, the jury still seems to be out on this one and Google just seems determined to confuse the world – especially me. I guess there are so many factors to be considered. There is first and foremost the cost factor, as I don’t want to go over the top because , while I won’t be asked details about the phone or the price , there may be remarks about ‘unnecessary expenditure’ when I return with the new phone. Then of course there is the issue of reliability, value for money, size, camera, storage space, looks and other specifications, some of which are a tad too technical for me. I know little and am not interested in Gpu, SoC, VOLTE, NFC, Ultra pixels , Amoled & Bezels – I just want a neat looking smartphone , hardy, large and with a good camera because of late I have begun to fancy myself as a bit of a photographer. Not attempting to win the The Pulitzer Prize for Photography or the Photo of the year or anything so dramatic, but I have clicked a few good snaps of flowers , people , buildings, sun sets and animals ( my cat )and many friends have appreciated the same. Maybe they are just being polite, but I feel encouraged! Unlike my spectacles which I often misplace, this does not happen with my phone, but frankly I will need to be more careful with my new instrument when I get it. Thinking about it, my poor Samsung has seen some rather rough treatment too and that has probably caused it to almost bow down its head and give up the spirit. I have dropped it, stamped on it, wet it, scratched it , almost boiled it , left it near a heat source ( read gas stove), over charged it ( probably time and time again )- everything but thrown it out of the window . And oh yes – I once almost dropped it three floors while attempting to take a photograph of a sandstorm! What is with these sandstorms! Last week I ventured out to look around and survey the ‘phone scene’ in a mall. There to my utter dismay I happened to bang into a ‘smartphone aficionado friend’ . Now what were the odds of that happening? Please don’t get me wrong – he is a nice affable chap , a little loud & a trifle over friendly but good hearted and simple . I made sure he did not hug me as he often does, what with Covid and social distancing and all that frightening stuff – so we banged fists and I half suspected he had become a gym freak, as my fingers hurt after that greeting and I recoiled back in pain but it seemed to have gone unnoticed as he was all jovial and brimming with energy thereafter ! Those ‘not a care in the world’ types I am sure you have met such people in your life too –they seem to be everywhere - big prints on the colourful shirt , jelled wavy hair , blue jeans , track shoes , wrist bands , stuff hanging around the neck, smelling of cologne, rather boisterous- they shake your hand and keep pumping well after you are ready to let go , seem so eager to have met you – shake hands again and smile from ear to ear . Like the good guy I think I am, I said ‘hi’, and smiled warmly although I do not know him that well. Then as a matter of small talk I mentioned that I was looking to buy a new phone. The moment I uttered that sentence I regretted it, and I am sure my face went pale, but it was too late – the deed was done. That did it. His eyes lit up - he took me aside and told me that he had just done a very detailed market analysis as he too wanted to buy a phone. He whipped out a Nokia and seeing it, I became nostalgic as that was the first brand I used. What followed was about forty-five minutes of questioning, information and data driven conversation. Actually it was not a conversation – it was more like a lecture on smartphones as he was the only one talking, while I nodded, yawned, looked around for help in any form , scratched my head in desperation , rolled my eyes , looked at my watch , looked surprised , looked interested , probably looked bored and what have you . All the above apparently had little effect on him as he was so wrapped up in his discourse and his expertise. I could swear I felt a fever coming on. He then asked for my phone which I handed to him meekly with the password to open it as well .He then gave it a quick authoritative ‘lookover’ and needless to add, as expected , he condemned it in no uncertain terms almost making me feel like trashing it there and then . He advised me to go for a Nokia and offered to shop along with me. You would have guessed my answer to that one. Forty-five minutes of my life wasted, and I am now more confused than ever. This morning when I looked at the phone it seemed to be blinking- almost begging me to retire it & put it out to pasture. This weekend the deed will be done.