In the words of JerryRigEverything, the most durable phone is any phone with a really good case.
I’m gonna tell ya a story. It’s long, I’ll put a TLDR under it.
I am currently using an iPhone 8. Bought it new, not long after it came out.
(yes I know, I have a pixel 8 now, im just slowly working on getting everything set up)
For most of the life of this phone, I’ve worked backbreaking manual labor, outside, come hell or high water, dealing with heavy machinery, toxic fluids, extremely dusty environments (foundry, machine shops, and a grain inspection shacks). Oftentimes working up to 16 hour shifts, 6 days a week.
I’m not bragging - I do NOT advise doing the same thing. Oh dear gods above and demons below, please don’t make my mistakes. I’m telling you this to give you an idea of the kind of physical abuse I was putting myself through.
And at almost all of those jobs, I was either using my phone heavily for communication with coworkers and bosses, or using it while on break to maintain at least a shred of sanity.
So whatever I was throwing myself into, my phone went there with me.
It only just recently developed its first physical failure, which is what finally spurred me into making the switch I’ve been planning to do for years.
How the blazes did my iPhone survive water, oil, alcohol, harsh cleaning fluids, disgusting garbage juice, metal dust, metal swarf, metal oxide and slag dust, grain dust, regular old dirt dust, mud, drops onto concrete from 10 feet in the air, drops onto dirt and gravel (including landing screen-down) from 60 feet in the air, and on one occasion getting pinned between my leg and a welded steel corner that I was leaning on with all my weight because I was trying to reach something?
I had a Lifeproof Nüüd on it from day one, AND a tempered glass screen protector. I’ve gone through three cases. They all broke at the little hatch door thingy over the plug.
After the second one broke there, I bought a few wireless chargers and did my best to never open the door.
Unfortunately, the Nuud is not available for sale anymore, and Lifeproof barely exists nowadays if at all. It got bought by Otterbox.
But you can get similar results with a quality case and a good tempered glass screen protector. Make sure you get one for the back camera, too, or a case that covers it.
If your case doesn’t have something protecting the USB C port (it should) either get a little silicone plug OR invest in Statik cords with the little magnetic plugs that stay in your phone. That will reduce stress on the plug, which is the second most common point of failure on smartphones (behind the screen and/or back-glass).
If it does, use wireless chargers and don’t mess with the USB C port unless absolutely necessary. It’s a pain to charge and use at the same time but you can use a clip-on wireless charger to do that if you don’t want to do finger gymnastics.
…
TLDR, get a case, don’t use the plug if you can get away with it (wireless charging), and try not to work jobs that put you through hell and require a phone.
Oh, also, use Chargie power disconnects to protect your battery.
Your phone will last for YEARS. Even if it’s a very expensive fragile little wafer that puts looks over durability.