I'm quite a clumsy person and so for me phone durability is one the most important aspects for choosing a phone.
Functionally the phone should be a standard high-end phone:
- Decent photos
- Responsive apps
- Reasonably sized (not tiny, doesn't need to be iPhone6/Galaxy Note sized).
Life events it should resist are:
- Dropping on the floor
- Banging the headphone and other cables while they're plugged in.
- Spilling water/drinks on it.