As the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona gets into high gear, device makers have not been left behind, with announcements coming in thick and fast. Xiaomi was widely expected to launch the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro to the global market, which they have now done. The company, however, had a surprise up their sleeves, announcing another model in the Xiaomi 13 series, the Xiaomi 13 Lite.
As hinted by the Lite moniker, the Xiaomi 13 Lite is a cut-down version of the Xiaomi 13 series packing a less powerful chipset, less capable cameras, and an older operating system. The result is a device retailing for less than half of the price of the base Xiaomi 13.
Taking a closer look at the Xiaomi 13 Lite, it is the selfie camera set-up that will steal most headlines, and for the right reasons. Rather than fitting a single sensor here, the Xiaomi 13 Lite has a dual selfie camera set-up consisting of a 32 MP main sensor and an 8 MP depth sensor for more accurate bokeh shots. The two sensors are housed in a very similar manner to the Dynamic Island introduced by the iPhone 14 Pro.
At the back, you get a triple camera set-up consisting of a 50 MP main camera with a Sony IMX766 sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP macro camera. Two of the sensors are housed in a circular structure, while the third sits slightly down on a bigger rectangular structure that encompasses the smaller circular one.
For what is essentially a mid-range device, the display is impressive, comprising a 6.55-inch Full HD+ AMOLED capable of 120 Hz refresh rate. This is in addition to being capable of hitting 1,000 nits of peak brightness, as well as supporting Dolby Vision.
The Xiaomi 13 Lite is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 which is a notable downgrade from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 found in the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro. You also get MIUI 14 out of the box. However, this is based on Android 12 instead of Android 13 as is the case for its more capable siblings.
You get a decent amount of RAM and storage at 8/128 GB and 8/256 GB, although the battery rated at 4,500 mAh is a little on the lower end for Xiaomi. However, the 67 W wired fast charging will charge the device from 0% to full charge in just 40 minutes.
Taking a look at the price, the 8 GB/ 128 GB variant of the Xiaomi 13 Lite starts at 499 euros in Europe, which is around Ksh 67,000. The more capable Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro are significantly more expensive, starting at 999 euros(Ksh 134,000) and 1300 euros(Ksh 174,000) respectively.
