Xiaomi 13 Pro review

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Introduction

Do you remember how the Xiaomi 12S Ultra did not launch outside China even though it had the potential to become one of the bestselling smartphones? Yes, we are still bitter about that, too. But today, we have some sweet, sweet news! The Xiaomi 13 Pro, the company's most current flagship, is what the road to redemption looks like and everyone's chance to own an even better and more refined Ultra.

Indeed, the flagship Xiaomi 13 duo has officially launched on the global markets, and the Xiaomi 13 Lite premium mid-ranger also tags along for the ride. The Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro are part of the selected few smartphones to pack the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. But while the Xiaomi 13 is a compact device with a rather mainstream camera, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is all-in across all aspects, camera included.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a beautiful glass smartphone with a new camera housing on the back, one that will probably become a signature for the next generation Xiaomi smartphones. It has the same 6.73-inch LTPO QHD OLED panel as seen on the Xiaomi 12 Pro and 12S Ultra. But while the resolution, color, refresh rate, and HDR capabilities have remained identical, the maximum brightness has been increased.

Then comes the new chipset - the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is part of the Xiaomi 13 Pro and, in addition to all the performance improvements it brings, it also comes coupled with faster RAM and storage chips.

The camera department gets the best from the 12S Ultra and builds on that. The 50MP main camera relies on the same 1" Sony sensor we loved on the Ultra. But it updates the ultrawide camera with a new 50MP sensor, and the telephoto camera gets another 50MP sensor sitting behind a 75mm lens for both 3.2x optical zoom and macro photography, as it can focus from as close as 10cm away!

The rear cameras once again rely on Leica lenses, and Leica color profiles are present, too. There are all sorts of video capturing options, including Dolby Vision recording.

The battery capacity remains rather similar to the Ultra and a bit higher than on the previous Pro - it's 4,820mAh. There is 120W fast wired and 50W fast wireless charging support.

Now, let's take a look at the full specs sheet.

Xiaomi 13 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.9x74.6x8.4mm, 210g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), ceramic back or silicone polymer back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.73" LTPO OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 1200 nits (HBM), 1900 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 522ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1 - 128GB, UFS 4.0 - 256/512GB.
• OS/Software: Android 13, MIUI 14.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50.3 MP, f/1.9, 23mm, 1.0"-type, 1.6µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.0, 75mm, PDAF (10cm - ∞), 3.2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 115˚, AF.
• Front camera: 32 MP, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps (HDR), 4K@24/30/60fps (HDR10+, 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR, 10-bit LOG), 1080p@30/120/240/960fps, 1080p@1920fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4820mAh; 120W wired, PD3.0, QC4, 100% in 19 min (advertised), 50W wireless, 100% in 36 min (advertised), 10W reverse wireless.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; Infrared port; stereo speakers.

We are happy to see Xiaomi bringing official IP68 ingress protection to the new flagship series, something that was reserved for China-exclusive premium models until now. Xiaomi has long ignored complete water resistance, and we hope we've finally seen the end of it.

But what we are saddened to see is that the Xiaomi 13 Pro, a premium cameraphone of sorts, is still using the dated 32MP selfie camera with a Quad-Bayer sensor, one that doesn't even offer 4K video capturing.

Unboxing the Xiaomi 13 Pro

The Xiaomi 13 Pro arrives in a thick black box with Xiaomi and Leica logos. Inside, you will find the phone itself, a 120W charger with USB-A port, and a 6A-rated cable.

The retail bundle also contains a soft transparent case and a SIM ejection tool.

Finally, the Xiaomi 13 Pro arrives with a thin protective film that was applied in the factory. It's low quality and a huge smudge magnet, so we peeled that off on day one.