Too much sun is tough on all cameras, even the expensive ones! I have a polarized filter for my favorite lenses and it helps tremendously but they don't make them for cell phones, maybe someday they will as there is an increasing number in cell photography.

Thanks for the compliment, @silvergingerman tells me I'm too hard on myself too! I'm a bit of a perfectionist, I need a new camera, I use outdated technology from a decade ago, it bothers me but it's so expensive to replace it...one day I'll bite the bullet and spoil myself.