You might downgrade and be fine with it.

Happened to me as I changed employer and had to hand back the fancy Pixel slab. I have been fine with the cracked screen 'burner' phone that I had bought in a hurry after I accidentally put my previous personal phone in the wash.

The 'burner' was only supposed to be a temporary purchase so I could take personal calls from not-so-well relatives. However I like having a not-so-special phone and not having the fear of dropping the posh all-singing-all-dancing Google device. Family channel messaging still works on it, it works fine as a phone and it even has nice touches like an SD card and replaceable battery. The smaller size is particularly good, the Google thing did not fit in my pocket too well.

The lack of decent camera is fine. It is actually what you do with a camera more than how good it is that matters the most. Plus there is that 'live for the moment' aspect of not having a posh camera.

The only downside is not having 'the big phone' for 'really important things'. I used to be able to do that, for a really important call, fancy photo or serious surfing, tell people 'hang on a minute, let me get my big phone for this...'. There was comedy value to it (but, like the best jokes, you would have had to have been there at the time).

Funny too that I never really needed any of those apps, games or whatever else you are supposed to have on these things. There is also value in being 'other' and not having a precious phone rectangle. I don't tease others for having to have their hand-rectangle crutch with them at all times. I am even okay with leaving my phone behind, if anyone calls then I call them back when I get in. Nothing is that important. There is no needless checking of the phone at every opportunity for me nowadays. I understand that new phones have apps to moderate that behaviour, I find that quite comical as I have no need for that imposed 'self control'.

As an outsider to hand-rectangle life I now observe others sharing a room, all of them engrossed in whatever it is that is shown on their respective hand-rectangles and not talking. If you want to do any of those things a hand-rectangle is for then a regular laptop (with tethering) is far better. I can't think of anything of consequence I have read or watched on hand-rectangles of old. Even maps is something I am dubious about, I am good for the zombie apocalypse when directions will need signs, landmarks, sun-angle and other clues. Camera is also a bit more nuanced. A dedicated camera with tripod mount is much better than even a Pixel phone when you want to do things like product shots. Out and about, the burner camera is fine for those things you message people with.

Testing websites for web-development is kind of even better with a burner phone. If it looks good on my phone then everything else is pretty covered (aside from Safari nuances).

It reminds me of the time I gave up my addiction to music, once I took the headphones off I discovered that the ambient soundtrack to my life was pretty good. I can honestly say I don't aspire to a new hand-rectangle but if I did wash my phone again and had to get a new phone then I would find today's burner phones pretty sweet compared to what I have now to go for the same. To think of the 'status anxiety' aspects of the past, where obviously I would need the deluxe version of a device with that extra RAM and storage space 'just in case'. I have grown past that feeble dependency.