There are low spec Android phones running on old versions of Android and then they are high spec phones running a recent version. The two are worlds apart and the high spec phones running Kitkat or Lollipop are easier to use, better and cheaper than the latest iPhones.
Samsung is fine but I think you are limiting yourself if you only look at them when considering Android.
I have a LG G3 running Lollipop (5.0) and are very happy with it. It's not waterproof but it's survived many bush trips and duck hunting adventures.
The Xperia Z series as mentioned above has very good hardware and is completely waterproof without a case.
The Nexus 6 is fairly well priced, gets all the latest OS updates first (cos it's a nexus) and is water resistant. I plan to upgrade to this phone when the price drops a bit.
A bloke at work just brought a Azus Zenphone and is very happy with it. There is a lower spec and a higher spec model (at about $300 and $500 respectivly). He brought the lower spec one and it beats my G4 in benchmarks.
When the iPhone came out it was revolutionary but that was 10 years ago and each brand has adopted the features of the other so the two are converging.
The latest iPhone 6 generation adopted the big phone thing without actually having a big screen. The iPhone 6 is about the same size as my LG G4 but it's a got a 1440p 5.5 screen vis the 720p 4.7 inch screen on the iPhone. The G4 also cost half the price.
I think you are limiting yourself if you just look at iPhones. With Android you can do more stuff like install a add blocker which edits the hosts file on your phone and blocks all the add networks. Boom! no more adds in web pages, e-mail or apps. Can't do that on iPhone.
Also embrace the big phone thing. Once you go big you won't go back.
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