This all sounds so ridiculous and pretentious to me. The way a phone feels in your hand? That sounds as dumb as the iPhone being a precious gem.
The carbonite Samung phones didn't get scratched and dented like my Pixel did, and my Pixel lives in a case, every day, I found a dent in the back when I went to sell it.
I see iPhones all the time that look like they have been in a crash test dummy's pocket.
So, premium feel means made of fragile materials that hipsters can talk about. Oh dood! Luk at mah kewl phone! iZ gud! itZ glss!!!
Everyone has different opinions when it comes to feel. This isn't something new to the world so I am not sure why you are so shocked. People say coats, clothes, etc. have "premium" feel. Car seats have "premium" feel in certain models. Does everyone agree they are premium? Nope. Some people may like one thing whereas another says its bad.
It's fine if you don't agree but your opinion doesn't mean everyone else is wrong because they simply disagree with you .