Laboratory and commercial preparations of aniline other than reduction of nitroarenes
It is true that until recently, the syntheses of primary anilines mostly rely on the reduction of corresponding nitroarenes. However, recent publications allow the synthesis of primary anilines or their derivatives in laboratory.
One such method is Buchwald–Hartwig amination:


The palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of amines and aryl (pseudo)halides, now commonly known as the Buchwald–Hartwig amination, was first reported 25 years ago. Since the simultaneous breakthrough reports of Buchwald and Hartwig in 1995, this reaction has transformed the way synthetic chemists think about synthesizing aromatic amines... (Ref.1):




A continuous process for Buchwald–Hartwig amination in different scale synthesis has also been introduced recently (Ref.2). Further, a version of Buchwald–Hartwig amination for the preparation of primary arylamines has been introduced recently as a general method (Ref.3):

The importance of the method is reflected by the development of a synthetic route to manufacture the drug candidate AMG 925 on kilogram scale using Buchwald–Hartwig amination (Ref.4):

Another amine synthetic method not following nitro reduction is Ullmann amine synthesis and its variations (Ref.5 and references therein):

In addition, secondary or tertiary amine can be prepared using Chan-Lam coupling reaction. For example see following reaction (Ref.6):

Other than using aryl halides, there is an another method to convert phenol derivatives to anilines. One such example describes a direct conversion of phenols into primary anilines with hydrazine catalyzed by palladium (Ref.7):


References:

Paola A. Forero-Cortés, Alexander M. Haydl, &quot;The 25th Anniversary of the Buchwald–Hartwig Amination: Development, Applications, and Outlook,&quot; Org. Process Res. Dev. 2019, 23(8), 1478–1483 (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.9b00161).
Sebastian Falß, Giovanna Tomaiuolo, Antonio Perazzo, Paul Hodgson, Polina Yaseneva, Jacek Zakrzewski, Stefano Guido, Alexei Lapkin, Robert Woodward, Rebecca E. Meadows, &quot;A Continuous Process for Buchwald–Hartwig Amination at Micro-, Lab-, and Mesoscale Using a Novel Reactor Concept,&quot; Org. Process Res. Dev. 2016, 20(2), 558–567 (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.5b00350).
Giang D. Vo, John F. Hartwig, &quot;Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling of Ammonia with Aryl Chlorides, Bromides, Iodides, and Sulfonates: A General Method for the Preparation of Primary Arylamines,&quot; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131(31), 11049–11061 (https://doi.org/10.1021/ja903049z).
Caroline Affouard, Richard D. Crockett, Khalid Diker, Robert P. Farrell, Gilles Gorins, John R. Huckins, Seb Caille, &quot;Multi-Kilo Delivery of AMG 925 Featuring a Buchwald–Hartwig Amination and Processing with Insoluble Synthetic Intermediates,&quot; Org. Process Res. Dev. 2015, 19(3), 476–485 (https://doi.org/10.1021/op500367p).
Andrea Francesca Quivelli, Paola Vitale, Filippo Maria Perna, Vito Capriati, &quot;Reshaping Ullmann Amine Synthesis in Deep Eutectic Solvents: A Mild Approach for Cu-Catalyzed C–N Coupling Reactions With No Additional Ligands,&quot; Frontiers in Chemistry 2019, 7, Article 723 (14 pages) (https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2019.00723)(Full Paper).
Carolin Fischer, Burkhard Koenig, &quot;Palladium- and copper-mediated N-aryl bond formation reactions for the synthesis of biological active compounds,&quot; Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2011, 7, 59-74 (https://doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.7.10)(Full Paper).
Zihang Qiu, Leiyang Lv, Jianbin Li, Chen-Chen Li, Chao-Jun Li, &quot;Direct conversion of phenols into primary anilines with hydrazine catalyzed by palladium,&quot; Chem. Sci. 2019, 10(18), 4775-4781 (https://doi.org/10.1039/C9SC00595A)(Full Paper).