Just leave it be. How often do we need to increase the MP count of the sensor?! It's anyway an insanely small sensor.
Just make another Galaxy Camera ffs. Call it Galaxy Snap or something. Or the Pixel Snap. Or whatever tf you want. Just stop obsessing over changing stuff that's alright.
Same here.
I buy Xiaomi midrangers or their Poco devices. They have great hardware for the most part, and have amazing custom ROM support.
As for camera hardware, a surefire way to improve your picture quality is by using a GCam Mod for your device.
You can check on Telegram if your device has a Photography group (search "devicename Photography" or similar words) OR you can search for your device on the official website for them.
I used to use Gcam mods, but I stopped because there were too many issues with making sure they worked correctly.
I think in 2-3 years the difference in camera quality between mid-range devices and flagships will be small enough that it won't matter for most people.
I'm sorry that you had to experience that. It's definitely the case that you have to test many different mods and different configs for them. It helps to be on a Telegram group that has people sharing official config files that they have tested for the various features for your device.
If you don't mind me asking, what device do you use currently? Maybe I could help you find a suitable GCam mod? I only suggest this because I have found it to improve images multifold for me.
Thank you for the offer and kind words. I use a A73 these days. To be honest, the quality is good enough for my needs. I do notice a difference with friend's pictures. Don't really need a GCam mod at this point.
I've reverted to buying the previous year's flagships now. When you do a side by side comparison the only real difference between last year's and this year's is £300-400.