After experiencing unwanted delays at the start of the month, Xiaomi has finally gotten around to releasing the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro, the first proper flagships of 2023. MIUI 14 was also part of the releases and has been championed as the most efficient and bloat-free OS build to come out of the Chinese company.
As expected, and what should also be the case for most flagships from other competing companies in the coming year, both Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro run on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Qualcomm’s latest and most powerful chipset based on TSMC’s 4 nm manufacturing process.
Thanks to Xiaomi’s partnership with Leica, the camera department gets a new design with the Leica branding on the bottom right side. The 13 Pro has a triple-megapixel camera system made up of the main sensor consisting of a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor with 8 aspherical lenses, a 50-megapixel 3.2x telephoto and a 50-megapixel sensor for ultrawide shots.
The base 13 model also gets the same triple camera system and Leica optics but with watered-down specs consisting of a 50-megapixel Sony IMX800 main sensor with seven aspherical lenses, a 10-megapixel 3.2 telephoto and a 12-megapixel sensor for ultrawide shots.
Visually, Xiaomi 13 is smaller than the 13 Pro and has a very similar look to that of the iPhone 14 with a flat-edged design, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro has curved edges similar to that of the Xiaomi 12 Pro. Colour options for the Xiaomi 13 are White, Black, Flora Green, and Mountain Blue, while the 13 Pro are Ceramic White, Ceramic Black, Flora Green (Ceramic), and Mountain Blue.
Displays for the two smartphones are very similar to that of their last year’s counterparts, with some very small improvements. The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a 6.73-inch display with a 1440 x 3200 resolution. It also boasts a 120Hz variable refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG and 1920Hz DC dimming against aggressive PWM.
At 6.63 inches, the Xiaomi 13 has a lower resolution at 1080 x 2400 but also supports a 120 Hz refresh rate with no granular control since it’s not LTPO. Other features such as Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG are also supported by the base model.
Taking a look at battery sizes, it comes as no surprise with the bigger sized 13 Pro features a bigger battery rated at 4,820 mAh while the Xiaomi 13 has one rated at a respectable 4,500 mAh. The 13 pro also gets Xiaomi’s new Surge charging chip, which the company claims allows the battery to last longer.
Charging speeds for both devices are on the higher end, with the 13 rated for 67 W wired and 50 W wireless, while the 13 Pro is rated for 120 W wired and 50 W wireless. This should realistically take both devices from 0% to 100% in less than 30 minutes.
Since both devices are not yet available internationally, we only have the pricing details for China. While they won’t be 100% accurate when they get a global release, it makes for a good benchmark.
The lowest trim level for the Xiaomi 13 (8 GB/128 GB) has a CNY 3,999 (Kshs 70,700) price tag, with the highest trim (12 GB/ 512 GB) at CNY 4,999 (Kshs 88,300). The lowest trim for Xiaomi 13 Pro (8 GB/128 GB) starts at CNY 4,999 (Kshs 88,300) with the highest trim for the Pro model (12 GB/512 GB) getting a CNY 6,299 (Kshs 111,300) price tag.
