2021 has been another strange year for most of us, but it has also been an exciting one in the smartphone world, with many changes in the Android space and improvements to Apple's iPhone lineup.
The Covid-19 pandemic has delayed many technology launches, but we still saw the best smartphones coming out throughout the year.
We're here to bring you all the big releases as they happened and remind you of how the year was on smartphones. Let's start with the beginning of 2021.
January to March: a tough conference season
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The Samsung Galaxy S21 (Image credit: future)CES 2021 was the first virtual CES in history, thanks to the ongoing pandemic that discourages people from coming together. The biggest story of the phone was the LG Rollable, which was first showcased via a short trailer. Everyone expected it to be released sometime in 2021 but, well, that didn't happen. Because at the end of January, LG revealed that it could stop making smartphones, which it did. More on this bomb later.
More reliable news has arrived from Samsung. The company used a similar calendar to CES 2021 to announce the Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra. All three models arrived at the end of January and were very successful.
Other phones on show at CES 2021 include Motorola showcasing its G-series and TCL phones showcasing its new TCL 20 line. During CES, Sony showcased its 360 Reality Audio support, aiming to support Dolby Atmos and other spatial audio technologies. .
While CES 2021 has announced some interesting news, MWC 2021 has been postponed until the end of June due to concerns about Covid-19. Away from CES, the Honor V40 was launched and the Xiaomi Mi 11 came out as a rival to Samsung's Galaxy S21.
March was also a busy month, with the introduction of the Oppo Find X3 on March 11, a smartphone that paved the way for a new generation of Oppo flagship phones. In the same month, Samsung introduced new mid-range models, the Samsung A52 and A72.
The OnePlus 9 went on sale in March, proving to be a good value for money option with no major issues. Gaming phones have also received some love with the launch of not only the ASUS ROG 5, but also the Nubia Red Magic 6 and Xiaomi Black Shark 4.
April to June - Goodbye LG
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The LG rollable smartphone (Image credit: LG)April was the month LG officially said goodbye to us when it left the world of smartphones. This meant that there was no chance for the LG Rollable, nor for the rumored LG V70 ThinQ.
During that time, we also got a glimpse of what we might expect from the iOS 15 release later in the year for the first time - a redesigned Control Center in particular caught everyone's eye.
Apple's first launch event in 2021 was in April. Spring Loaded focused on Macs and iPads, but it also introduced a new color for the iPhone 12: purple.
The Oppo Find X3 series, which includes the Oppo Find X3 Pro, Find X3 Neo and Find X3 Lite, has also finally gone on sale in the UK. Oppo continued its peak season with the introduction of some inexpensive 5G headsets: the A54, A74, and A94.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy M12, a budget phone with a huge battery. At the same time, the company was declared the world's largest smartphone maker, again with a 22% market share.
Motorola has entered the budget market by introducing the Moto G20. However, it was Realme, with their Realme 8 5G, that had the cheapest 5G phone in the UK at the time.
In the United States, the Department of Defense removed Xiaomi from its blacklist, which had prevented the United States from investing in the manufacturer. Xiaomi quickly confirmed that its ban was lifted.
Also, after a long time, Honor phones finally started offering Google apps again, following the split from their parent company, Huawei. The month of June has been riddled with rumors about the iPhone, although it will be months before we have concrete details about the iPhone 13.
July to September: summer, Samsung and Apple
With the beginning of summer and until July, we hear a lot of rumors about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Is it finally time for us to see a super foldable phone?
It wasn't until August, at Samsung Unpacked, that these two phones were confirmed. These phones became Samsung's cheapest folding phones when they finally launched at the end of the month.
But the summer has not been easy for Samsung. The company lost its title of the world's largest smartphone supplier to Xiaomi.
Elsewhere, and also in July, the OnePlus Nord 2 was launched. Highly anticipated, the Nord 2 was a welcome addition to the mid-range phone market, mostly because it offered surprisingly high specs for its price.
Nokia also announced new phones: the exceptionally rugged Nokia XR20, along with the C30 with its huge battery, and the Nokia 6310, which reinvented the original 6310 phone.
Motorola was busy this summer too, officially confirming that the Moto G60s is coming to the UK. These phones offered a 120Hz screen at a lower price than the competition.
The iPhone 13 lineup was also announced in September, with Apple promising better features, better video recording facilities, and finally a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate OLED display, specifically for the iPhone 13 Pro.
Camera functionality on the other end of the line was possibly the most exciting aspect. But sadly, shipping and supply issues forced some early users to wait weeks before they could take advantage of their latest iPhone acquisition.
October to December: more phones to come
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Google Pixel 6 Pro (Image credit: Futur)With the end of the year came the promise of major phone launches, as well as renewed concerns about the return of Covid-19. Still new phones, right?
New Xiaomi phone launches quickly followed in the form of Xiaomi 11T and 11T Pro.
October also marked the predictable introduction of the latest smartphones in Google's line, the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro. By elevating its photo-taking capabilities, the Pixel has proven to be an ideal phone for photography fanatics.
Remember that battle over the biggest smartphone maker? Well, at the end of the year Samsung was crowned supreme again and Apple beat Xiaomi in second place.
December has been mostly full of Samsung Galaxy S22 leaks, and high hopes that the phone, according to tradition, will be introduced in early 2022. Just in time for us to be excited for another year of phone-related news.