Xiaomi 13 Pro review

introduction

Remember how the Xiaomi 12S Ultra was not launched outside of China even though it had the potential to become one of the best-selling smartphones? Yes, we are still bitter about this too. But today we have some sweet, sweet news! The Xiaomi 13 Pro, the company’s most current flagship, is the aspect of the road to redemption and the possibility for everyone to own an even better and more refined Ultra.

Indeed, the Xiaomi 13 flagship duo has officially launched in global markets and the premium mid-ranger Xiaomi 13 Lite is also joining the race. The Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro are among the handful of smartphones selected to pack the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. But while the Xiaomi 13 is a compact device with a rather mainstream camera, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is all-in in all respects. camera included.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a beautiful glass smartphone with a new camera housing on the back, which is likely to become a signature for next generation Xiaomi smartphones. It has the same 6.73-inch QHD LTPO OLED panel seen on the Xiaomi 12 Pro and 12S Ultra. But while the resolution, color, refresh rate and HDR features have remained the same, the maximum brightness has been increased.

Then comes the new chipset: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is part of the Xiaomi 13 Pro and, in addition to all the performance improvements it brings, it is also paired with faster RAM and storage chips.

The camera department gets the best out of the 12S Ultra and builds on that. The 50MP primary camera is based on the same 1″ Sony sensor we loved on the Ultra. But it updates the ultrawide camera with a new 50MP sensor, and the telephoto gets another 50MP sensor behind a 75mm lens both for the 3.2x optical zoom and for macro photography, as it can focus from as close as 10cm!

Xiaomi 13 Pro and Xiaomi 13

The rear cameras rely once again on Leica lenses and Leica color profiles are also present. There are all kinds of video capture options, including Dolby Vision recording.

The battery capacity remains quite similar to that of the Ultra and a little higher than the previous Pro: it is 4,820 mAh. There is support for fast 120W wired and fast 50W wireless charging.

Now let’s take a look at the full spec sheet.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro specifications at a glance:

• Body: 162.9×74.6×8.4mm, 210g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), ceramic or silicone polymer back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30min).
• Screen: 6.73″ LTPO OLED, 1B color, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 1200 nits (HBM), 1900 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 522ppi.
• chipsets: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm): Octa-core (1×3.2GHz Cortex-X3 & 2×2.8GHz Cortex-A715 & 2×2.8GHz Cortex-A710 & 3×2.0GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1 – 128GB, UFS 4.0 – 256/512GB.
• Operating system/software: Android 13, MIUI 14.
• Rear camera: Broad (main): 50.3 MP, f/1.9, 23 mm, 1.0″ type, 1.6 µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.0, 75mm, PDAF (10cm – ∞), 3.2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 115˚, AF.
• Front camera: 32MP, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps (HDR), 4K@24/30/60fps (HDR10+, Dolby Vision HDR 10bit, LOG 10bit), 1080p@30/120/240/960fps, 1080p@1920fps, Gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Drums: 4820mAh; 120W wired, PD3.0, QC4, 100% in 19 min (advertised), 50W wireless, 100% in 36 min (advertised), 10W wireless reverse.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; Infrared port; stereo speakers.

We are happy to see Xiaomi bring official IP68 ingress protection to the new flagship series, something that was reserved for the Ultra until now. Xiaomi has long ignored full water resistance, and we hope we’ve finally seen the end of it.

But what saddens us to see is that the Xiaomi 13 Pro, something of a premium cameraphone, still uses the dated 32MP selfie camera with a Quad-Bayer sensor, one that doesn’t even offer 4K video capture.

Unboxing of the Xiaomi 13 Pro

The Xiaomi 13 Pro comes in a thick black box with the Xiaomi and Leica logos. Inside, you’ll find the phone itself, a 120W charger with USB-A port, and a 6A cable.

The retail package also contains a clear soft case and SIM eject tool.

Finally, the Xiaomi 13 Pro comes with a thin protective film that was applied at the factory. It’s low quality and a huge smudge magnet so we took it off the first day.