Xiaomi Redmi 13 5G Review: Elegant Yet Pocket-Friendly Performer

The Xiaomi Redmi 13 5G starts at Rs.13,999 for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage. Furthermore, the 8GB+128GB variant retails for Rs.15,499.It is available in Hawaiian Blue, Orchid Pink and Black Diamond colours on the Amazon and Xiaomi India websites.

The Redmi 13 5G packs the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• 33W Charger
• Type C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Documentation

Before we talk in detail about the Redmi 13 5G, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.79″ LCD with 120Hz
• Chipset: Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 AE
• RAM & ROM: 6GB +128GB | 8GB + 128GB
• Software: Xiaomi HyperOS
• Rear camera: 108MP + 2MP
• Selfie camera: 13MP
• Battery: 5030mAh
• Weight: 205g
• Dimensions: 168.6 x 76.3 x 8.2 mm

The design is where the Redmi 13 5G particularly shines (pun intended) as you get a crystal glass design. This shimmery glass pattern gives it a premium look, and I have the Hawaiian Blue colour of the Xiaomi Redmi 13 5G for review.

The rest of the design will remind you of the Poco F6, which has two large dual camera setups and a ring LED flash next to it. I think Xiaomi has started to adopt a new design language for its budget and mid-range smartphones.

Also Read: Poco F6 Review – F For Flagship Killer Performance!

The rest of the phone is clean, with minimal Redmi branding at the bottom left corner. Despite its large screen, it feels comfortable to hold in the hand thanks to the 205 grams weight and 8.2mm thickness.

Coming to ports and placements, the volume rocker and power button are on the right side of the device. The left remains clean, while the 3.5mm headphone jack and IR blaster are at the top.

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At the bottom, you will be greeted by a USB-C port apart from the single speaker.

The Redmi 13 5G boasts a 108-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. On the front, there is a 13-megapixel selfie shooter.

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During the day, the phone takes good photos with plenty of details and sharpness. The Samsung ISOCELL HM6 sensor can capture 3x shots with in-sensor zoom.

Also Read: Poco C61 Review: Attractive Design At Affordable Price

Furthermore, the photos captured have a saturated hue, making them suitable for social media. However, the 2-megapixel macro sensor is only good on paper and is barely usable. Honestly, I would have preferred if Xiaomi had opted for an ultrawide angle lens.

Also Read: Poco C61 Review: Attractive Design At Affordable Price

Lowlight photography is where the Redmi 13 5G falters behind the competition with noticeable grain and overexposed output. However, this is in line with most budget phones available in this price range.

The 13-megapixel selfie camera can take good photos with accurate skin tones and details. The front and rear cameras can record videos up to 1080p at 30 FPS. Overall, the Redmi 13 5G offers decent cameras for the price, similar to other budget phones I have reviewed.

The Redmi 13 5G packs a 5,030mAh battery with 33W charging support. The phone lasted me around 6 to 7 hours, and casual usage easily helped me reach the end of the day.

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My usage included watching reels, capturing photos, listening to songs on Spotify, and using WhatsApp.You can also reduce the refresh rate to even more battery backup out of the phone.

Furthermore, unlike other brands that are now skipping on chargers, you get a 33W fast charger in the box, so kudos to Redmi for bundling one in the box. The bundled charger can fully charge the phone in around 1 hour and 30 minutes, which isn’t the fastest but decent for the price.

The Redmi 13 5G boasts a 6.79-inch IPS LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. Moreover, you get a peak brightness of 550 nits and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection.

Also Read: Tecno Camon 30 5G Review: Amazing Cameras At Affordable Price

You get a centre punch hole cutout and thick bezels surrounding the screen. There is also a sizeable chin at the bottom.

Despite being an LCD panel, the screen is great for content consumption, and I enjoyed watching Season 4 of How I Met Your Mother. The colours are bright and saturated, although I did miss the deep blacks of an AMOLED panel. There is also Widevine L1 support to stream 1080p content on OTT platforms.

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The phone is good enough for indoor brightness, although it is hard to see under bright sunlight. You can switch between Standard and High refresh rates of 60Hz and 120Hz in the settings.

For security, the phone has a fast and accurate side-mounted fingerprint sensor. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card slot for expansion. Although the phone has a mono speaker, it is loud enough to fill an entire room and IR Blaster to control appliances.

The Redmi 13 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 AE (Accelerated Edition) chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM. This is the same chipset found in the Poco M6 Pro and is a reliable performer based on a 4nm architecture. The phone has 128GB of storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card.

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The phone remained smooth during day-to-day tasks, and I did not encounter stutters or lags. This included scrolling through Instagram, taking photos, watching videos on YouTube, and it easily handled it. Most apps remained in memory thanks to the 8GB of RAM and 8GB of virtual memory support.

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When it comes to more intensive tasks like gaming, the phone manages 60 FPS in CODM at Low and High settings, while you get 40 FPS in BGMI with Smooth and Ultra. While the Redmi 13 isn’t the most powerful phone in this price range, the gameplay experience felt smooth nonetheless.

Regarding benchmarks, the phone scored 960 in single-core and 2208 in the multi-core test in Geekbench. Furthermore, it throttled 98.8 per cent in the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test and 88 per cent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test. In addition, you get an AnTuTu V10 score of 433591 and a score of 29588 in the storage test. Overall, the Redmi 13 performs day-to-day tasks well but isn’t made for intense gamers.

The Redmi 13 5G runs on HyperOS out of the box, which is based on Android 14. There is no clarity on the update support, although you can expect at least one OS update in the future.

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Like other Xiaomi phones, the Redmi 13 5G runs on the latest HyperOS, which feels smooth and fluid. However, this also means it has the same issues with bloatware and dark patterns during setup.

Apart from the ads, app recommendations, and other unwanted apps that constantly send you notifications, you get plenty of preinstalled apps. Some of these preinstalled apps include Amazon, Facebook, WPS Office, LinkedIn, Spotify, Snapchat, and Bubble Blast.

Also Read: Realme P1 5G Review: Pocket Friendly Performer

Thankfully, you can easily uninstall these apps from the settings. The rest of the HyperOS experience remains familiar, with fluid app opening animations, lock screen customization, a new control centre, and more.

In addition, you get Quick Ball, One-Handed Mode, Screen Recorder, Floating Window and Second Space. Overall, the software experience remains great but suffers from the same issues as other Xiaomi devices.