I am still satisfied with my Zenfone 8. It is much better than phones I owned before (Samsung S10e, Xiaomi Mi Mix S2, Huawei P10). I have been looking at competing phones, but they are too big (e.g. Pixel 7), too expensive (iPhones, Xperia 5), have t...
I don't think this is possible. However it is possible to apply a completely customised lockscreen, for example with CLCK Kustom Lock Screen. It is a workaround, but it may be interesting for you to give it a try.
I can confirm the higher battery usage and occasional heating since the update. "Phone inactive" and "Samsung Health" use significantly more power than usual for me. Typical screen on time decreased from about 4 hours to 3.
