Samsung has long pretty much been the company synonymous with Android, but the competition in the smartphone market is rising, particularly when looking at emerging businesses like Xiaomi, Realme, or Honor. While Samsung’s smartphone sales have taken a beating over the years, it has announced that overall, 2021 was its most successful year in history.

In 2021, Samsung’s revenue climbed to a mind-boggling KRW279.6 trillion (~$230 billion) and a profit of KRW51.63 trillion, both of which are historic highs. The fourth quarter of 2021 made for equally impressive record results. Here, the growth was mostly driven by the finished product businesses, meaning that Samsung did a great job selling us its latest flagship phones and foldables as well as home appliances and TVs. And indeed, Samsung’s mobile division could increase its revenue slightly thanks specifically to foldable phones such as the Galaxy Z Flip3. It looks like all of Samsung’s research and development and its pioneering role in the foldable market is paying off. Similarly, Samsung could expand its flexible display business, as other manufacturers are entering the foldable market.

Of course, Samsung’s mobile division is just a small part of the humongous business, and it’s far from the only department printing money. Despite the chip shortages, Samsung could grow its foundry/semiconductor division, its display business, its consumer electronics department, and its digital appliances products.

For 2022, Samsung expects even better numbers. The company hopes for a recovery in global IT demand, making it possible to ramp up production of chips and other products like OLED and QD panels aimed at other manufacturers. Similarly, the company wants to strengthen its premium segment lineup and create better cross-platform connectivity between all of its products, which we presume means that it wants to take Apple head on in the US — as much was leaked back during CES 2022, when Samsung executives met in Las Vegas to talk about the company’s strategy. Budget smartphones apparently just don’t bring in the revenue they used to anymore, so Samsung wants to focus on the flagship market and horizontal product integration.