Xiaomi 13T review

Xiaomi has all the time launched plenty of totally different smartphone fashions all year long, and the naming system is usually a bit complicated. Whereas this follow has fortunately cooled down considerably, there are nonetheless some who might surprise what makes the Xiaomi 13T totally different from the Xiaomi 13 and even the Xiaomi 12T.

The first enchantment of Xiaomi 13T sequence is being an reasonably priced different to the usual Xiaomi 13 and 13 Professional. It gives virtually high-end specs but at a lower cost. Sounds unbelievable doesn’t it?

Within the real-world, it’s not good, though there are additionally very constructive surprises. That is how the Xiaomi 13T performs in on a regular basis use.

Design & Construct

The Xiaomi 13T is offered in Alpine Blue, Meadow Inexperienced and Black colors and at first look, it appears similar to the Xiaomi 13.

That is each and unhealthy factor, however certainly the most important draw back is the glass again of the cellphone, not less than in Black color model. I don’t imply the fabric itself, however how reflective it’s and the best way it simply collects fingerprints.

Sadly, after a couple of seconds within the hand, the Xiaomi 13T went from a good looking swan to an unpleasant duckling. As quickly as I took the Xiaomi 13T out of the field, I put the included silicon case on it, however being trustworthy it didn’t change something. Other than that, this case appears fairly cheesy by itself, and as soon as you set it on the cellphone, all of the design allure disappears much more.

Aesthetics apart, it’s fairly sturdy. The aforementioned glass again has coped with a couple of unintentional bumps in opposition to the sting of a desk, the aluminium bezels do their job and the Gorilla Glass 5 on the display remains to be in nice situation after every week spent with this cellphone.

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One other benefit is its IP68 ranking, signifying full safety from mud and the power to resist submersion in water as much as a depth of 1.5m for a most of half-hour.

The facility and quantity buttons are positioned fairly naturally, on the correct facet, so I had no downside reaching them. The underside bezel, however, homes the USB-C port, the SIM card tray (for 2 SIM playing cards solely, no microSD), and the speaker holes.

Display screen & audio system

When it comes to the show, it’s a merely very good 6.67in AMOLED panel with a decision of 2712 × 1220 pixels. Personally, I’m not a fan of bigger smartphones and I’ve to warn you that utilizing the Xiaomi 13T with one hand is just not the best of duties. Nonetheless, this show gives an important expertise when watching movies, providing actually good colors copy and deep blacks.

One other benefit is its 144Hz refresh fee, which helps lots when shopping social media, information and gaming. On the plus facet, you may manually set the refresh fee – by default it modifications dynamically from 60- to 144HZ, however it’s also possible to set it to fastened values. The utmost possibility actually provides a greater really feel, however sadly additionally will increase energy consumption.

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Tucked away within the display is the optical fingerprint sensor, which, whereas it really works nicely, is sort of small (or not less than the realm of it displayed on the display). I generally discovered it tough to precisely place my finger on it to have the ability to unlock the cellphone. Then, nevertheless, face unlock, utilized by the punch-hole selfie digicam, typically got here to assist me. In the end, each strategies of unlocking and verification work nicely and shortly, as did their setup course of.

The aforementioned speaker on the underside bezel works in tandem with the second on high, which collectively provides a twin stereo setup. They don’t produce an impressive sound, with extra distortion at most quantity, whereas they’re pretty much as good as potential for conversations.

Specs & Efficiency

Most would possibly say {that a} flagship cellphone deserves a flagship chip, so the presence of the Dimensity 8200-Extremely within the Xiaomi 13T may be a bit stunning. Whereas the Xiaomi 13 received the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Xiaomi 13T has been given the equal of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 within the Dimensity 9000

To be trustworthy, I don’t assume it’s an issue. The MediaTek processor has been paired with 8- or 12GB RAM, and the entire thing gives nice on a regular basis efficiency.

That’s proper, day by day, as a result of I’ve been utilizing the Xiaomi 13T for the previous week and it has accompanied me as my foremost cellphone. Beginning with informal calls and messaging, transferring via social media shopping and even taking part in League of Legends: Wild Rift – the Xiaomi 13T has not proven any lag or slowdown in efficiency.

Gaming admittedly isn’t its foremost goal, as is the case with the most effective gaming smartphones, but it surely handles it nicely.

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Within the Geekbench 6 take a look at, the Xiaomi 13T scored 3794 multi-core factors and 1119 single-core factors. Unsurprisingly, that is considerably decrease than the Xiaomi 13, not to mention the Xiaomi 13 Professional, however it’s stunning how shut the rating is to the Xiaomi 12T, which scored 3740. As you may see, the successor to the Dimensity 8100-Extremely has solely marginally improved this rating, albeit nonetheless a step up.

When it comes to inside storage, the Xiaomi 13T gives solely 256GB and with out the power to broaden it by way of microSD card. For most individuals, nevertheless, that is unlikely to be an issue, particularly within the period of cloud storage. On the subject of connectivity, along with the anticipated 5G and NFC assist, it gives essentially the most present Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 requirements.

Cameras & Video

The digicam setup on the Xiaomi 13T is sort of spectacular, providing a flexible vary of choices for capturing high-quality pictures and movies.

The 50Mp foremost digicam permits to seize a big quantity of sunshine. This ends in sharp and detailed pictures even in low-light situations, general making it perfect for capturing intricate particulars.

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The telephoto digicam, additionally with a 50Mp sensor, does a fairly good job at zooming in on distant topics. It allows you to get nearer to your topics with out compromising picture high quality, in addition to helps keep readability and sharpness.

The 12Mp ultrawide digicam gives a wider area of view, permitting you to seize expansive landscapes, group pictures, or inventive wide-angle pictures. Whereas it in fact sound nice on paper, in actuality there’s nonetheless a considerable lower in high quality when transitioning to the ultrawide digicam from the primary one. The pictures exhibit a discernible discount in sharpness and element.

The 20Mp front-facing digicam is ideal for capturing selfies and video calls. It provides you a number of particulars and the portrait mode gives a passable degree of background blur.

Relating to video capabilities, you could have the choice to report in resolutions as excessive as 4K at 30fps. Though the default selection of 1080p at 30fps ought to suffice for almost all of customers.

Software program & Options

When it comes to software program, I received’t shock anybody by saying that the Xiaomi 13T runs on Anroid 13 together with the MIUI 14 overlay from Xiaomi.

What might shock you, nevertheless, is the best way it really works. iPhone customers might really feel proper at house right here, as the short settings menu and the notification panel have been separated, and are accessed by swiping down the correct facet of the display or the left facet of the display respectively. Nevertheless, in case you have used an Android cellphone earlier than, you could expertise a little bit of a shock.

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Sadly, that is most likely the one factor I moderately preferred, and even then solely as a result of I exploit an iPhone every day. The additional into it you get, sadly, there are extra pre-installed social media or VOD apps, however fortunately you may uninstall them. The issue arose, nevertheless, after I wished to eliminate apps from Xiaomi that I didn’t want, reminiscent of Themes, and needed to come to phrases with them being caught on the cellphone.

What’s price praising, nevertheless, is that the Xiaomi 13T will obtain 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of safety updates.

Battery Life & Charging

The Xiaomi 13T comes with a big 5000mAh battery, which is an identical to what you’ll discover within the Xiaomi 13T Professional.

Whereas the battery has remained the identical as within the Xiaomi 12T and 12T Professional, sadly the time it takes for the battery to empty utterly has worsened. With the brightness set to a reasonably normal 200 nits, Xiaomi 13T achived a results of eight hours and 7 minutes on PCMark’s battery take a look at.

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In the end, the Xiaomi 13T gives a full day of blended utilization, however I all the time needed to bear in mind to cost it within the night for the subsequent day. With the included 67W charger (the 13T Professional has 120W), you may anticipate a full cost in lower than half an hour. When you simply want a fast cost, I discovered that it reached 60% from zero in simply quarter-hour. Sadly, I miss the wi-fi charging possibility.

Value & Availability

The Xiaomi 13T begins at £549 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You may get it on Xiaomi UK web site that can characteristic an early fowl promotion, providing consumers a £50 low cost voucher. Moreover, Currys will sweeten the deal by offering consumers with a complimentary Redmi Pad as a free reward.

Contemplating the value level, the Samsung Galaxy A54 and Google Pixel 7a emerge because the closest rivals to the Xiaomi 13T, and they’re price considering. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to counsel the Xiaomi 13T over the Google Pixel 7, which gives robust competitors. In the meantime, the OnePlus 11 can also be a noteworthy possibility.l

Make sure you uncover out chart of the most effective mid-range telephones as you would possibly simply discover a extra reasonably priced that gives all of the options you need.

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Must you purchase the Xiaomi 13T?

The Xiaomi 13T, whereas just like the Xiaomi 12T and Xiaomi 13, nonetheless excels in plenty of methods for which this cellphone is price contemplating.

The Dimensity 8200-Extremely gives wonderful efficiency and the 6.67in OLED show is a visible deal with, particularly when mixed with the 144Hz refresh fee. The spectacular 50Mp foremost digicam, in addition to the opposite three lenses on the 13T, are as much as the duty.

Though it collects loads of fingerprints, its smooth design, coupled with 67W quick charging, additionally provides to its enchantment. Be mindful, nevertheless, that these charging speeds come on the expense of battery life and even an incomplete day of use. The MIUI 14 overlay on high of Android 13 leaves lots to be desired, though there will definitely be those that will prefer it.

Contemplating the value, I’m able to forgive the Xiaomi 13T a couple of minor inconveniences and it’s a strong possibility if it ticks your packing containers.

Specs

• Android 13 w/ MIUI 14
• 6.67in, 1220×2712 OLED show, Gorilla Glass 5
• Adaptive 144Hz refresh fee, 480Hz contact sampling
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• MediaTek Dimensity 8200-Extremely chipset
• 8/12GB RAM
• 256GB non-expandable UFS 3.1 storage
• 5000mAh battery
• 67W wired charging
• 50Mp f/1.9 foremost digicam
• 50Mp f/1.9 telephoto digicam
• 12Mp f/2.2 ultrawide
• 20Mp f/2.2 entrance digicam
• 5G
• Wi-Fi 7
• Bluetooth 5.4
• Twin audio system
• From 162.2mm x 75.7mm x 8.49mm
• From 193g
• Colors: Alpine Blue, Meadow Inexperienced and Black