Seconding Sway. I will admit I prefer autotiling (switching the split for new windows between horizontal/vertical automatically, rather than choosing which split you want), but overall Sway is so good in configuration that I still use it in spite of being a manual. The configuration takes time, but that’s common to pretty much any tiler.
I hear you. My last phone was an ancient Xperia from about eight years ago–but I finally needed to get a new one. I love most everything Sony is doing with the Xperia series, and I would have gotten another. But the update guarantee was so abysmal I just couldn’t do it. So now I have a Pixel which I think is worst in design in a lot of ways. But at least it will be updated. (And can run GrapheneOS).