Tell me about your Android phone

[BearSoFair]

Because I've had enough of Apple!

Key things I'm looking for:
Not huge - ideally 6.2" screen max
Decent battery life
Decent camera ideally including telephoto zoom

Samsung S23 seems very promising, or the Pixel 8 (but no tele zoom...)
Happy to go pre-owned so open to suggestions of older models if they tick the right boxes!

Any hidden gems?

Samsung are fine. The recon/year older models are great for significant discounts, too.

Mine is from 2019 and still going strong (and fast).

Go for a Pixel that works for you in terms of size & budget.
Samsung hardware is great but they stuff lots of pointless software on their phones you have to filter through, often unable to delete the apps you don't want. Stock Android on Pixels is so much cleaner and simpler to use - so more like the Apple approach (but you get the ability to choose to install or customise if you want).

One thing to watch out or in switching from Apple to Android is that Apple do not provide an Android parental controls app. So if your child has an iPad or iPhone you can't control their usage. I hate Apple for that (conversely Google Family app is available on iPhone).