[jphilip]

Aggressively reclaiming the notification/reminder area in the existing smartphone appears to be working for me.

I uninstalled intrusive (android) applications and moved to web equivalents. Anything that tries to gain space in the notification/lock-screen is uninstalled or if not viable (cabs, etc) are banned from showing notifications - and I poll when required. In my country, applications are increasingly intrusive (food apps piling on food offers, cab services pushing ads for cabs - wth, I'll book a cab if I need one, who advertises using push notifications for cab booking?).

I access web-versions via Firefox for Android with UBlock Origin enabled. These include socials like twitter, instagram. The setting provides a richer experience thanks to fewer ads. I noticed instagram cached videos to ensure smoother experience in doomscrolling (prefetch some recommendation buffer starting segments). The web version makes doomscrolling clunkier than a native-application (which works in favour of the dropping agenda). Most of the times I forget to enter the doomscrolling app because no reminders in the notification area.

My banking application was pushing loan-deals I did not want and stealing notification space. Unlocking my bootloader caused it to cry about security, now I use web-version there as well.