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Last year, the company tried a 1-inch camera sensor on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. This year, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is available to everyone. On the back of the second one, a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor is still joined by two more 50-megapixel shooters.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro promises the best smartphone photography without sacrificing features that help you get things done. This is because Xiaomi is still working with Leica. Users can use a tall, curved 6.7-inch screen, super-fast charging, and 5G internet, all featured on many flagship and mid-premium Xiaomi phones.

Even with these fantastic features, the Xiaomi 13 Pro will be remembered as India’s most expensive Xiaomi smartphone. At Rs 79,999, the phone is in the same price range as other high-end Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the iQOO 11 Pro, and the OnePlus 11 5G, which all use the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.

But Xiaomi is only interested in one thing with the 13 Pro: the cameras. In addition to the 1-inch camera sensor, the company has added a floating lens mechanism to help users take stunning portraits and close-ups with the telephoto camera.

But as good as the camera system looks, there aren’t many updates to the selfie camera, which may bother some semi-professional creators who want to use it for Instagram live sessions and Reels/YouTube Shorts.

So, if you want a smartphone with a good camera, is the Xiaomi 13 Pro your best choice? In this review, we’ll find out.

Xiaomi 13 Pro Review and Full Phone Specifications

Xiaomi 13 Pro Design and Display

Like the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, the back of the Xiaomi 13 Pro is made of ceramic, which looks and feels very classy. This makes the phone heavier, but after using it for over a week, I got used to its chunky shape. I still like the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s satin finish better, but the ceramic finish makes it look more attractive. In the end, it will come down to what each person wants. When it comes to colour, customers can choose between black and white. No matter what colour you choose, the shine on the back is very noticeable.

Still, the shiny surface makes it easy for fingerprints to get all over it. Xiaomi does have a solution, which comes with a clear silicone case (along with an extra protective glass for the front). As expected, using a case will add a few grams to the weight. The metal finish on the rims looks excellent with the ceramic body.

The biggest problem for Xiaomi is ensuring the camera module stays the same size. The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a more significant bump on the back for the camera than the Xiaomi 12 Pro from last year. I don’t mind because the phone is for people who like taking pictures. Every professional photographer you know will tell you that a smartphone is much easier to carry than a DLSR camera. The same is valid here.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a 6.73-inch curved screen on the front that Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus cover. The edges were rounded, but they didn’t cause problems like on other phones. There is also a fingerprint sensor under the screen that works very well. But if your hands are sweaty, which is almost always the case with smartphones that use this technology, it might not work either.

By default, the E6 AMOLED screen can only show Full-HD+ (2400×1080 pixels), but I changed the settings on the Xiaomi 13 Pro to show WQHD+ (3200×1440 pixels). With the help of AI engine enhancement and AI HDR enhancement tools built into the display settings, the quality of what you see gets much better. There is also support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, which makes watching movies on OTT apps even better. Readers should know that using the phone on the highest settings uses more battery.

I compared the screen performance on the Xiaomi 13 Pro to that of an iPhone 14 that costs the same amount, Rs 79,900. Most of the time, apps like YouTube, Netflix, and Hotstar look better and are brighter on the Xiaomi 13 Pro. But when I looked at the differences between it and the Samsung Galaxy S23, I couldn’t find many. In the end, it will come down to numbers and lab-quality tools.

Overall, the Xiaomi 13 Pro’s screen has almost no apparent flaws, but I think the company could have done a better job with the thickness and weight distribution. I’m sure Xiaomi knows about these problems; maybe they’ll fix them in future phones.

Xiaomi 13 Pro Performance

The Xiaomi 13 Pro has the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Gen 2 SoC, which fixes one of the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s biggest problems. The new-generation chipset is much more stable, and there were almost no signs that it was getting hot. To be clear, I used the Xiaomi 13 Pro with the highest settings, which are 120 Hz refresh rate, WQHD+, and always on display. Only when I used “boost charging speed” did I notice signs of overheating.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro scored 1,452 points on the single-core test and 4,884 points on the multi-core test. This is much better than the Xiaomi 12 Pro, which got 1,210 and 3,546 points with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. The phone got “maxed out” scores on 3DMark’s one-minute Wild Life GPU test, and the app suggested a harder Wild Life test. During the test, the average frame rate was between 43 and 83, which is a great score.

Overall, there’s nothing wrong with the Xiaomi 13 Pro. However, like almost all Xiaomi phones, it comes with a lot of bloatware, or unnecessary third-party apps. The extra (read: useless) apps can be removed, but I really think that high-end smartphones shouldn’t have to deal with these kinds of marketing tricks.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is supposed to get updates for three generations of Android and security patches for five years.

Xiaomi 13 Pro Specifications and Prices

Source: GSMarena

Xiaomi 13 Pro Cameras

Smartphone cameras have come a long way, and the Xiaomi 13 Pro shows how far they have come. When I used the Xiaomi 12 Pro last year, I was sure that there wasn’t much room for OEMs to step up their game. But the Xiaomi 13 Pro’s camera system is a great example of how well hardware and software can work together.

On the back, there are three 50-megapixel cameras: one wide, one ultra-wide, and one telephoto. The main camera has a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor, which is an impressive feat in and of itself. For those who don’t know, a bigger sensor can capture more light, which leads to more vivid colors and details. Large sensors add to the size and weight of a smartphone, so companies that make them try to avoid using them. Of course, as the price goes up, so does the price of the device.

The main 50-megapixel sensor picks up a lot of details, whether the light is bright or dim. Photos taken with the main camera have high saturation and strong shadows by default, which makes them look better to most people. The 50-megapixel main camera has good depth between the subject and the background, and it does a good job of detecting edges. In addition to the regular Leica Authentic mode, there is also a Leica Vibrant Look mode that makes photos look like they were taken with an old Leica camera. This mode usually has colors with moderate saturation and soft tones, but it doesn’t lose any details. As a result, you get a picture that looks old and rustic.

Notably, the 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera has the same level of consistency, which is a rare feat. The same Leica modes are also available for use with the ultra-wide camera.

The 50-megapixel telephoto camera on the Xiaomi 13 Pro is one of the best I’ve seen on a smartphone. The telephoto camera also doubles as a macro lens thanks to a floating lens design that achieves a focal range of 10cm. The 50-megapixel telephoto camera takes photos with a lot of color and depth that are both stunning. There are a lot of ways to play around with the camera, but my favorite is the 35mm black-and-white portrait mode. Some examples are shown below.

When it comes to videos, the main camera has optical image stabilization (OIS) to make sure the clips are steady. The Xiaomi 13 Pro can record in 8K at 24 frames per second, but I think most people will be happy with 4K at 60 frames per second. There is still a 32-megapixel selfie camera on the front. Most of the pictures it takes are soft and have low contrast and colors. To be honest, I don’t mind as long as details aren’t lost. Photos can still be good enough for Instagram with a little editing. But the front camera can only record video in Full HD at 30 frames per second, which needs to change to compete with iPhones.

When it comes to editing, the Xiaomi 13 Pro also has some cool features. There is a way to get rid of objects. Users can also get rid of shadows from food photos, which is something that many bloggers want. You can also choose to shoot in “Pro mode,” which lets you use multiple color profiles and 10-bit RAW DNG capture.

Xiaomi 13 Pro Battery

The new Xiaomi 13 Pro still has fast charging with 120W, but the battery has grown from 4600mAh to 4820mAh. During my review, the Xiaomi 13 Pro easily lasted a full day with all of its settings on the highest level. When testing the camera was really hard, the Xiaomi 13 Pro lasted about 14 to 15 hours, which is also pretty good.

With moderate usage (Full-HD+ resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and AOD off), the battery backup could be extended by a few hours, as expected.

In terms of charging speed, the Xiaomi 13 Pro took about 22 minutes to charge fully using the included 120W charger (with boost charging speed enabled). The phone also supports 50-watt rapid charging, but only when using a proprietary charger. Also, reverse wireless charging is supported, which could be quite handy in some unusual instances.

Xiaomi 13 Pro: Price and Availability

Xiaomi doesn’t sell phones in the United States. The Xiaomi 13 Pro with 256GB of storage will be sold in the U.K. starting March 14 for 1,099 British pounds, which is about $1,315 U.S. It will be sold in Currys and Argos stores, as well as on Xiaomi’s online store.

Even though the camera is great and the phone is powerful, this is an expensive smartphone. It’s only a little less than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, but a lot more than the OnePlus 11. It’s a tough choice because the camera on the S23 Ultra is a little more flexible, and the phone has the S Pen, which makes it more useful, as well as better software. The OnePlus 11 has the same processor and is a bit smaller than the Xiaomi 13 Pro. It also has a good camera, but not as good as the one on the Xiaomi 13 Pro.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is in the middle of these two great options, and you should think about how long it will last before making a choice. When you pay this much for a phone, you want it to last as long as possible. The three years of major Android software updates and five years of security updates aren’t as long as what Samsung and OnePlus promise.