Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra rear view
Credit: Luke Pollack / Android Authority

Xiaomi enjoyed a pretty good year in 2021, releasing its first non-China-exclusive premium flagship, offering some stellar budget phones in the Redmi Note 10 series, and launching its first foldable phone. It all came together to give the company a wave of momentum that it almost certainly hadn’t seen before.

Xiaomi was even duking it out with the likes of Apple and Samsung in the first half of the year, briefly sitting atop the throne, according to several tracking firms. That is, until the chip shortage affected production in the second half.