Pretty happy with my Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, got the hardware of flagships and is pretty cheap. Haven't run into any issues as of yet.
My old Samsung J7 has gotten to where it takes interminably long to open anything (though my wife's stills works fine) Needed Google maps yesterday to avoid a wreck on I-10 and it just would not get there in time. (it's been hard reset twice). I don't care about camera's, I don't watch movies, i don't care about fashion I just want a phone that works fast and reliably. I got off of Apple 10 or 12 years ago because their DRM was a hassle and been a Chrome guy since. If you are phone knowledgeable post an opinion please. I've used ATT since it was Houston Cellular. Got Amazon Prime, bought the J7's on Swappa. I think I would like OS updates. The Apple 7 idea above could work. I use a Trackman radar for work and there is no Android Ap for it if I need a back-up monitor. Oh, I need a headphone jack because I'm deaf and wireless headphones don't get loud enough but wired ones will.
To Dubious - you can get a Oneplus 6 with headphone jack. It's a good phone. Or, you can dump the headphone jack, and get a Pixel 2. The new Oneplus and Pixel phones are coming soon, too.
I need to check some of these out eventually... I miss rooting/playing w/ android setups etc etc. But do enjoy the new samsungs, their launcher finally doesn't feel like ****
Are you looking at buying 2 or leaving to t-mobile or another provider or something? I know you didn't state that... But new samsungs s9/9+/note 9 are bogo... Pretty decent deal for flagships. I left att earlier this year after years under a Corporate acct w/ at&t and went to t-mobile, their Corporate discount killed att. At least w/ everything I'm getting. There's a lot of good phones though for sure. I'm w/ you though on Android phones, I left apple after the iPhone 4th Gen and never looked back.
Probably not the best time to buy. At least wait until the pixel 3 to drop. Should affect other phone pricings as well. @Dubious a few good android one phones out already if you like light skins of android os and dont really need the pixel price. Nokia, LG, OnePlus definitely. I would love a discounted year old pixel 2 (up from 2 to 3 year os update guarantee) to replace my 6p but dreading not having a headphone jack in future phones.
Grab a Galaxy S8. Sure its packed with lots of stuff you dont need, but it's a quick and nimble phone. I dont get flagship phones for the features. I get them because they work amazingly well. It's almost a year and a half old so you can pick one up for a reasonable price. For what you need, there is no reason to buy a newly released phone.