Xiaomi 13 Pro review

After a reputation change and the reintroduction of a Professional mannequin final 12 months, it’s extra of the identical for Xiaomi firstly of 2023. 

At MWC in late February, the corporate launched two new flagships globally: the 13 and 13 Professional. An much more succesful Extremely mannequin is anticipated sooner or later, however Xiaomi has confirmed that there’ll be no half-step ‘S’ replace later within the 12 months. 

From testing the 13 Professional, it’s arduous to think about a non-gaming cellphone which may very well be extra succesful than this – maybe solely the Galaxy S23 Extremely. With Qualcomm’s newest silicon, a major digicam outfitted with an enormous 1in sensor, and a few of the quickest charging round, the machine is sort of unmatched in the case of {hardware}. 

However acquainted frustrations stay on the software program facet, and so they’re the primary cause this isn’t an instantaneous suggestion.  

Design & construct

• Big, ugly rear digicam module
• New ceramic again
• Return of the IP68 score

Xiaomi has revamped the design of the 13 Professional – simply not in a great way. A lot of the cellphone retains its typical glossy look, however the gigantic digicam module stands out like a sore thumb. 

It displays Xiaomi’s new partnership with digicam firm Leica, together with some massive upgrades to the rear sensors. However there’s no denying it appears ugly, and protrudes considerably from the again of the cellphone.

The impact could be decreased by making use of the silicone case within the field, though even then there’s a major wobble when used face up on a desk. The massive emphasis on cellphone cameras means a flush digicam module isn’t reasonable, however absolutely Xiaomi may’ve performed higher than this. 

Whereas the common Xiaomi 13 additionally has an enormous module, it doesn’t stick out almost as a lot. You’ll be able to’t complain that it appears like all different telephones, not less than. 

One other key change sees the glass again of the 12 Professional swapped for a ceramic one. It definitely feels very premium, however provides to the whole weight considerably. At 229g, it’s a lot heavier than final 12 months’s 12 Professional (205g), and one of many heaviest telephones full cease.  

That rear design can also be extremely reflective, that means it shortly accumulates noticeable fingerprint smudges. This may be mitigated by popping on a case, which additionally provides much-needed grip to an in any other case slippery machine.  

The 13 Professional is well-built and feels impressively sturdy, however a ceramic rear means will it at all times be weak to shattering than plastic. Whereas the entrance is supplied with robust Gorilla Glass Victus, there are not any such ensures for the again.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

One massive enchancment is that there’s now an IP68 score – beforehand seen on the Mi 11, however dropped for final 12 months’s telephones. It means the cellphone is totally protected in opposition to mud and submersion in as much as 1.5m of water for as much as half-hour. 

Color choices are restricted, with simply black and white fashions to select from. However if you happen to’re going to use a case anyway, it doesn’t actually matter. 

It’s additionally price mentioning the vibration motor, which offers refined haptic suggestions as you navigate the cellphone. It does a superb job of simulating actual button presses, and feels very prime quality. 

Xiaomi retains issues easy on the aluminium sides of the cellphone, with simply the facility button and quantity controls on the proper, then a SIM tray (helps twin SIM), single downward-firing speaker and USB-C port on the underside. It means there’s no 3.5mm audio jack, however that’s by no means stunning. 

Display & audio system

• Excellent 6.73in OLED show
• Dynamic 120Hz refresh price
• Underwhelming twin audio system

The Xiaomi 13 Professional’s show has solely been barely tweaked in comparison with final 12 months, and it’s functionally equivalent for most individuals. 

Because it was already probably the greatest shows on any cellphone, that’s hardly stunning. You continue to get a big 6.73in, 1440×3200 OLED panel, giving it an more and more frequent 20:9 facet ratio. The display screen is a pleasure to behold, with excellent element and dynamic colors that basically pop.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

It combines with an adaptive refresh price, that means the show could be set to mechanically transfer between 1 and 120Hz relying on what you’re doing. It is a nice solution to steadiness efficiency and battery life, solely providing you with these slick larger refresh charges while you’ll really profit from them. 

You’ll be able to manually set it to 60Hz or 120Hz if you happen to’d choose, however the dynamic refresh price is a superb function that you just gained’t discover on many telephones. After experiencing the slick, fluid transitions on the 13 Professional, you’ll by no means need to return to a 60Hz show once more. 

Xiaomi says the display screen can hit an unbelievable 1900 nits of peak brightness. That’s far larger than most telephones, and also you’ll haven’t any drawback utilizing the 13 Professional on shiny sunny days. Sure, there have been a few these within the UK winter! 

Throughout the show you’ll discover an optical fingerprint sensor which is simple to arrange and works properly more often than not. Nonetheless, there’s fairly a small goal space to purpose for, and any moisture will cease it from unlocking. 

Unusually, Xiaomi has determined to ditch the 12 Professional’s quad speaker system, though they weren’t notably spectacular.  

Combining a single downward-firing grille with the earpiece means you continue to get a stereo setup, however the audio hasn’t improved a lot. It’s usually clear and may attain a good quantity with out a lot distortion, however there’s little or no bass or depth to the sound.

Specs & efficiency

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 12GB of RAM
• Excellent efficiency throughout the board
• 256/512GB of non-expandable storage

Xiaomi’s flagship telephones are normally outfitted with Qualcomm’s newest and biggest chips, and the 13 Professional isn’t any completely different. 

The cellphone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which offers each efficiency and energy effectivity advantages in comparison with the 8 Gen 1 discovered within the Xiaomi 12 Professional. Whether or not you may inform them aside is one other matter, however there’s no doubting the wonderful efficiency right here.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Alongside 12GB of RAM on both configuration, the 13 Professional breezes via virtually each activity you may consider with ease. That features internet shopping, texting, watching movies, shopping social media and taking pictures, plus shortly switching between apps and utilizing them side-by-side. 

There’s wasn’t even a touch of stuttering or hesitation all through my testing time, one thing which may’t be mentioned for many telephones. It even extends to cell gaming, with Name of Obligation: Cell, PUBG Cell, and Asphalt 9 all remaining easy and responsive. 

Even in these demanding situations, the 13 Professional solely will get barely heat to the contact. Overheating is one thing earlier Snapdragon-powered telephones have struggled with, nevertheless it’s not a problem right here. That may change if you wish to play video games for a number of hours, however there are devoted telephones for that. 

The 13 Professional retains up with this 12 months’s different flagships in testing, solely lagging behind these with decrease decision shows, which have a better time within the graphics-heavy GFXBench. 

By way of storage, there are two selections: 256GB or 512GB. There’s no help for expandable storage. 

Being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 means the 13 Professional has 5G help, alongside the newest Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E requirements. Xiaomi additionally says it’ll be suitable with the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 through a software program replace. 

Digicam & video

• Triple Leica 50Mp rear cameras
• Glorious pictures from all three
• Spectacular 30Mp selfie digicam

Xiaomi has teamed up with digicam firm Leica for the 13 sequence, with each common and Professional fashions that includes some important modifications. 

That may not be instantly obvious from the specs, with the hefty rear module nonetheless containing three 50Mp lenses. Nonetheless, that major sensor is now the a lot bigger 1in Sony IMX989 – the identical as in present digicam champ Vivo X90 Professional and final 12 months’s Xiaomi 12S Extremely – so it’s no shock that the pictures it produces are spectacular.

The cellphone is especially properly suited to panorama pictures, however structure and road pictures additionally appears nice. Nonetheless, with out a devoted depth sensor, the software-based portrait mode is hit or miss. A beautiful background blur (which could be adjusted after the photograph is taken) is feasible, nevertheless it typically struggles with edge detection. 

If most of my pictures under look a little bit washed out, that’s as a result of they have been taken on a winter day within the UK: that was how the scenes really seemed. However throughout each modes, you get clear, well-exposed pictures with loads of element and nice dynamic vary.

The 50Mp telephoto lens can also be now bigger, that means it provides 3.2x optical zoom relatively than the Xiaomi 12 Professional’s 2x. It means you may get some detailed pictures from fairly an extended distance away, though counting on digital zoom after that (all the way in which to 70x) results in a fast decline in high quality. 

Then there’s the 50Mp ultrawide, which provides the identical 115˚ subject of view as its predecessor. Preserving the megapixel rely so excessive means there’s solely a slight drop intimately in comparison with the primary sensor, and its versatility is nice in quite a lot of situations. 

As you may anticipate, there are a great deal of completely different modes to select from within the digicam app. Amongst these, you may select between ‘Leica Vibrant’ and ‘Leica Genuine’ modes. I caught with the latter for essentially the most half, which lacks the standard saturation of many smartphone cameras however stays impressively true to life.

The selfie digicam stays at 32Mp, nevertheless it’s nonetheless one of many best possible. Publicity, particulars and hues are all on level, and it does a good job of portrait mode.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The Xiaomi 13 Professional can file video as much as 8K at 24fps, however the default 1080p at 30fps is a greater possibility for most individuals. Footage gained’t rival an iPhone, however OIS on the primary lens means it stays clear and regular – even with a lot of motion. 

Battery & charging

• 4800mAh battery
• Stable all-day battery life
• 120W wired charging, 50W wi-fi

Battery life was a key weak point of the Xiaomi 12 Professional, however that’s not the case with its successor. The mixture of a bigger 4800mAh cell and improved Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 energy effectivity means it might now comfortably final a full day – even with some intensive duties similar to gaming or utilizing GPS. 

That’s mirrored within the PCMark battery take a look at, which simulates real-world world utilization at a reasonably typical 200 nits of brightness. A time of 11 hours 56 minutes is properly over 4 hours higher than its predecessor, and above common among the many high-end telephones we’ve not too long ago examined. 

With the advance right here, the 13 Professional is without doubt one of the few telephones that delivers nice battery life and charging speeds.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The 120W adapter within the field will get you a full cost in lower than half an hour, whereas it additionally helps 50W wi-fi charging and 10W reverse wi-fi charging. The latter is nice for shortly charging equipment similar to a watch or cellphone, nevertheless it helps all gadgets with the Qi commonplace. 

Software program & updates

• MIUI 14 over Android 13
• Irritating, unintuitive software program expertise
• Three years of Android model updates

The 13 and 13 Professional are the primary Xiaomi telephones to run Android 13 out of the field. Nonetheless, each have Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 pores and skin excessive, which stays the one largest cause to not purchase the 13 Professional. 

Primarily, MIUI 14 dilutes what makes Android so nice, then provides a garish color scheme and annoying apps you may’t uninstall. It’s completely usable, however a major downgrade in comparison with the software program expertise on many different telephones. 

Key variations in comparison with ‘inventory’ Android embody a break up notification shade and management centre, vibrant icons, and a redesigned Settings menu. All of those take the polish off the consumer expertise, relatively than including to it.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Then there are all of the pre-installed apps, and there are some unusual selections right here. Xiaomi appears to assume everybody needs to make use of the likes of TikTok, LinkedIn, and Solitaire, although not less than these could be uninstalled.  

The corporate has its personal apps for messaging, safety, file administration, internet shopping and plenty of extra, none of which you’ll take away. Your greatest different is to cover these within the app drawer and by no means use it, however they shouldn’t be there within the first place. 

I’ve used a number of Xiaomi telephones now, so know what to anticipate. However there’s a major studying curve if you happen to haven’t tried one earlier than. 

By way of software program help, Xiaomi commits to 3 years of safety updates and 4 of safety patches. Which means you may anticipate Android 14, 15, and 16, plus patches till 2027. 

That is roughly in step with different Android producers, albeit behind each Samsung and Apple. 

Worth & availability

As anticipated, the Xiaomi 13 Professional doesn’t come low-cost.  

It’ll set you again £1,099/€1,299 for the 12+256GB mannequin when it goes on sale on 14 March. You’ll have the ability to purchase one from the Xiaomi website, but in addition Currys and Argos.

As typical, the machine gained’t be offered within the US. 

The plain different is Samsung’s Galaxy S23+, which begins at $999/£1,049/€1,219. However there are many nice options in our best smartphone chart. 

Verdict

The Xiaomi 13 Professional takes what made the 12 Professional so nice and makes it even higher. However that doesn’t imply you can purchase one.  

Efficiency from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is totally implausible, with its improved energy effectivity and a bigger battery delivering important battery life enhancements. New Leica cameras are near the very best you’ll discover on any cellphone, with nice outcomes throughout all 4 lenses. 

However an enormous new digicam bump interrupts an in any other case glossy design, whereas the software program expertise stays a serious supply of frustration. 

At this flagship value level, these shortcomings are arduous to disregard. The Xiaomi 13 Professional is a superb cellphone, nevertheless it’s not best-in-class. 

Specs

• Android 13 w/ MIUI 14 
• 6.73in LTPO WQHD+ OLED 120Hz curved show, 20:9, 240Hz contact sampling, HDR10+, Dolby Imaginative and prescient 
• In-display fingerprint sensor 
• Gorilla Glass Victus 
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 
• 12GB RAM LPDDR5 
• 256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 non-expandable storage
• Digicam: 
  • 50Mp, f/1.9 major digicam with OIS 
  • 50Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam 
  • 50Mp, f/2.0 3.2x zoom telephoto digicam 
  • 32Mp, f/20 front-facing digicam 
• Twin audio system with Dolby Atmos 
• Twin-SIM 
• 5G 
• WiFi 6E 
• Bluetooth 5.3 
• IP68 
• USB-C 
• 4820mAh battery 
• 120W wired charging 
• 50W wi-fi charging 
• 10W reverse wi-fi charging 
• 162.9 x 74.6 x 8.4 mm 
• 229g 
• Launch colors: Black, White