The global version of Xiaomi 13 is here, and the staggering price of the cell phone has everyone rolling their eyes. No doubt, the cell phone is well-capable and can deliver exceptional performance. But is it worth the extravagant price Xiaomi is asking?
So, here is a thorough review of Xiaomi 13 after one month of usage, 23 battery cycles, and over 800 pictures.
Let’s Inspect
Summary
Pros
- Beautiful Design and Strong Construction
- Good Camera Performance
- Extremely Fast Charging
- Highly customizable MIUI 14
- Pleasant battery life
- Beautiful AMOLED screen
Cons
- Bad Speaker Performance
- USB 2.0 for data transfer
- Extravagant Price tag
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Xiaomi 13 – Price
Xiaomi 13 is launched for 1000$. The phone is competing against Samsung Galaxy S23 and Google Pixel 7. But the phone is significantly more expensive than both of the competitors. So, to justify the price, the mobile has to perform exceptionally well.
Xiaomi 13 – Unboxing
Unboxing is nothing special apart from the fact that it comes with a proper 67W fast charger and a protective case. There is nothing special, but these extra things add some value to the mobile phone.
Appearance and Build Quality
Design-wise, there are a lot of things different compared to Xiaomi 12. It is one of the most beautiful-looking smartphones of this year so far. It is a combination of multiple rectangles.
Let’s start with a walk-through. The AMOLED screen has Gorilla Glass 5 protection. We also have glass on the back with a solid aluminium frame. The construction is robust, and the mobile feels very slippery in hand. So, having a case or wrap is essential for a better grip.
The sim tray, speaker, microphone, and Type-C port are on the bottom. And second speaker, mic, and infrared blaster on top. Both the volume rocker and power button are on the right side.
One of the principal changes compared to the previous generation is the camera setup. Unlike the vertical orientation of Xiaomi 12, the 13 has all three cameras packed in a box. We can also see Leica branding in one of the squares, which is a nice addition and can prove to be quite beneficial for the phone’s camera performance.
Technical Specifications
- Body: Glass front and back, Aluminium Frame
- Weight: 185 grams
- Screen: 6.36-inch AMOLED Screen with 1200nits peak brightness, 120Hz refresh rate and 1080×2400 resolution
- Processor: Qualcomm SM8550 Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- OS: Android 13 with MIUI 14 Skin
- Storage: 8GB+128GB, 256GB, 12GB+256GB, 512GB
- Rear Cameras: Main Camera 50MP f/1.8, Telephoto 10MP f/2.0, Ultrawide 12MP f/2.2
- Front Camera: 32MP f/2.0
- Battery: 4500mAh battery with 67W fast charging
- NFC: Yes
- Speakers: Stereo Speakers
- Sensors: In-display Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Gyroscope, Compass, Color Spectrum
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G
Xiaomi 13 – Display
The screen is one of the nicest parts of Xiaomi 13. It has a beautiful 6.36-inch AMOLED display. It is a solid 120Hz screen with 1080×2400 resolution protected by Gorilla Glass 5. On sheet, it is a great screen, but the screen is not on par compared to Google Pixel 7 and Samsung Galaxy S23. It has dim colors and brightness.
In terms of responsiveness, Xiaomi has a lot to catch up which is sad considering the mobile was launched months ago in China. It is not a gaming phone, but gaming on Xiaomi 13 is pleasing. But one thing that is not so good is when you open a game, the refresh rate automatically comes down to 60Hz. Which is a bummer, considering it is a high-end smartphone. Moreover, what is the benefit of having 120Hz when the mobile is limiting performance?
Xiaomi 13 – Cameras
Xiaomi 13 is showing a significant jump in the hardware side. This time the cameras are calibrated by Leica, which used to work with Huawei.
The main sensor on Xiaomi 13 is IMX800 with a professional 23mm f/1.8 Leica lens consisting of seven aspherical lenses, ALD ultra-low reflective coating, and new cyclic olefin material for crystal clear images. In addition to hardware, Leica has also worked to improve the software side by adding better color science and extra color options called Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic.
The primary camera also has HyperOIS, which is extremely good and delivers a clear picture and a smooth video. The only thing where the main sensor struggle is at capturing portrait shots. The focus is not good, and you cannot virtually get a clear picture of a moving object. But we can expect it to get better with future updates.
In terms of videos, the camera can shoot up to 8K, which looks great but takes up a lot of space.
The ultrawide camera is excellent for daytime shots. The wider aperture and field of view give a nice action camera-like feel. The colors and dynamic range are excellent in every image.
The 3x telephoto lens is excellent. It is so good and nothing less than the Galaxy S23. All the details are well preserved, and you will not see out-of-focus, distortion, noise, and blurred parts, which shows how good of a telephoto lens Xiaomi 13 has.
The front camera is the modest one. The 32MP camera has electronic stabilization and cannot record video over 1080p, which is a bummer for such a capable sensor. The pictures on the other end look detail-rich, colorful, and close to reality.
Watch our YouTube video for more samples.
Xiaomi 13 – Battery
The battery on Xiaomi 13 is very good. It has a 4500mAh battery powered by a super-fast 67W charger that takes only 38 minutes to reach 100%. Overall, it is good, but if you don’t clean apps before sleeping, the phone will consume 6% to 8% overnight. While cleaning them will reduce it to 2% to 3%.
Moreover, in the first week, the battery life was perfect, but as the OS got cluttered with apps and caches, the values started to go down. But still, the results are better than the Google Pixel 7 but not as good as S23, which has a 600mAh smaller battery.
One thing that I don’t like is the USB 2.0 usage. It is criminal for a 2023 flagship to have USB 2.0.
Xiaomi 13 – Software
When it comes to software, Xiaomi has MIUI 14. It does not look much different than MIUI 13 and has some bugs, but we can hope for them to be removed after a few updates. But still, it is a very capable and highly customizable OS. It has a stock-ish kind of look with options for customizations, advanced battery tweaking, and much more. It also works seamlessly with Mi-Ecosystem devices.
Drawbacks
- Speaker quality is not great
- Refresh limitation on games
- High price
- USB 2.0 in 2023
Conclusion
So, in the end, does Xiaomi 13 worth the 1000$ price tag? I don’t think so. Yes, it has fast charging, good cameras, a stunning screen, the latest and fastest chipsets, valuable MIUI, and much more. But still, the features do not justify the value. Google Pixel 7 and Galaxy S23 have similar features and hardware at a significantly lower price tag. And the fact it costs 649$ in China makes the price even more burning.