the reason to get a Garmin is not for the gps per se but for the satellite communication and SOS button. I feel so much more safer backpacking with a Garmin....and it gives my family a lot of peace of mind as well. There are so many examples of people dying in our local mountains, even during day hikes, where they would still be alive today if they had a satellite communicator.

I highly recommend the Garmin Inreach. It's not easy to use on it's own, but you can send messages and use the GPS navigation using an app on your phone via bluetooth. I bring my phone anyways because I prefer Gaia or Caltopo for navigation. The Garmin is for communication, the phone is for navigation.

There are rumors that future iPhone models might have satellite phone functionality. Likely, you'd just pay for an extra monthly service fee for satellite, in addition to 5G or whatever. Something like a Garmin may be obsolete in only a few years.

In terms of protecting my phone, I find an Otterbox and a tempered glass screen works fine. This is not waterproof of course, but it protects against dropping my phone on a rock, which I manage to do at least once every hike.