Apple’s 2021 top-of-the-line iPhone follows a tried and tested script. The product design is mostly the same as the iPhone 12 Pro Max, except for the larger camera lenses and a few added grams to the overall weight. The A15 is Apple’s fastest chip yet, while the new Cinematic Mode to manually focus different subjects in a video is an excellent addition on the software side. The flagship iPhone is still one of the best smartphones you can buy if you need top-notch photography and videography, but if you already have an iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max, there’s no reason to update just yet.

In 2021, the Korean company got rid of its Galaxy Note line in favor of a new generation of foldable phones. The Galaxy Flip 3 (which, despite its name, is only the second of the series) is the most interesting one. It’s a flip smartphone with outstanding specs and, above all, a price that’s finally comparable to other traditional flagship phones. Samsung still believes that foldable phones won’t go the way of 3D TVs anytime soon. To prove the point, they put their money and investments into a category where they currently have no valuable competitor whatsoever.

In the midrange smartphone territory, Chinese manufacturer Oppo has always been a steady presence. This year its new Reno6 series consolidated its role in the European market with two completely different phones. While the Oppo Reno6 Pro is inexplicably identical to the FindX 3 Neo, the entry-level Reno6 has debuted a new compact and flat-screen design that sets it apart from most of the Android competitors in the same range. Oppo will soon extend that same design language to the new Reno7 line-up, launching in China in mid-December.

Recent news of a growing integration with the parent company Oppo has had many OnePlus fans around the world pretty worried. It would be a pity to fold the years-long experience of the Shenzhen brand into its largest parent conglomerate, especially after launching the 9 Pro, OnePlus’ absolute best smartphone to date. With great specs and one of the best camera systems of 2021, thanks to a new partnership with Hasselblad, the OnePlus 9 Pro seemed to be a testament to the company’s maturity. Unfortunately, it could turn out to be its swan song instead.

Honor is back. The Huawei subsidiary, hastily sold to an investment consortium in 2020 to save it from its parent company’s geopolitical misery, has finally restarted its operations and sales in the EU market. Its first new phone line-up is worth noticing for two reasons. First, it’s an excellent and reasonably priced phone in the premium mid-range. Second, its design is very similar (by that we mean “basically the same”) as some of Huawei’s latest China-bound smartphones, suggesting that Honor hasn’t completely severed ties with its former masters. Regardless, it’s good to see that at least part of the Huawei conglomerate was able to survive the Trump Administration’s blows, gaining back a partnership with Google that’s fundamental to operate successfully in the EU market.