@DismalManorGang I used the Setapp version too but was just using 3 apps so in the end was cheaper to just buy those apps and cancel Setapp.
There are no carrier-modified phones here, afaik. I’ll just go for a cheap Samsung which will surely have a lot of their bloatware on it, but I don’t mind. It’s more about seeing if I can do what I need to do with a phone using Android.
(For photos I use my synology and am trying Immich)