100% my pain too. These gigantic rectangles are so unwieldy to hold, particularly with one hand. There was one phone I saw recently that touted it's "compact" size of 6.1 inches. Ridiculous
Yeah, I seem to only have four choices atm, Google pixel 8, galaxy s23, Asus zenfone 10 or an iPhone. They are all expensive and I don't want the iphone because I would have to change ecosystems. If prefer NOT to buy a new phone but mine keeps messing up in the middle of a call and requiring a reboot.
Look at rugged phones, my phone is thick like a brick and weighs a pound, although it's a extreme. There are some cool ones slightly thicker than the average phones, with better batteries (huge plus, u don't have to recharge them 2 times a day, I have to every 4 days or so) and they rarely break. They're also pretty cheap. I think I paid mine 300€. Tons of companies make them, from unknown ones (like the one that made mine, lol, although it's pretty good I must say) to known ones like IIRC Motorola, Samsung and even caterpillar (the ones that make construction equipment)
I bought the Nothingphone, it's thicc! So nice to have a thick phone without rounded bezels. I had a Samsung Galaxy before and it was terrible to grab firmly.
I can't seem to hold the phone without activating the touch screen. It's also much too slippery - I think they make them that way so you drop them more often. A case is an absolute necessity. And because the battery doesn't last the whole day, I have to carry around a power brick to charge it. I miss my Note 3 and the aftermarket case with the 8000 mAh replacement battery!
I think the US is more limited than the EU. Right now I only see those and older phones are out unless you have a liberal attitude toward using a phone with no security updates.