Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Review: The Perfect Mid-Ranger?

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro is available in India for Rs.25,999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Furthermore, other device variants with 8GB+256GB and 12GB+256GB configurations retail for Rs.27,999 and Rs.29,999, respectively.

The phone will be available on Flipkart and Xiaomi India’s website in Arctic White, Coral Purple and Midnight Black colours.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro packs the following items inside the box:

• Handset
• 67W Charger
• Documentation
• SIM Ejector
• Case

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

• Display: 6.67-inch AMOLED
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2
• RAM & ROM: 8GB 128GB, 8GB 256GB, 12GB 256GB
• Software: Android 13
• Rear camera: 200MP + 8MP + 2MP
• Selfie camera: 16 MP
• Battery: 5100 mAh
• Weight: 161.2 x 74.3 x 8 mm
• Dimensions: 187 g

The Redmi Note 13 Pro has a beautiful glass back with a colour-changing design. There is a triple camera setup on the back, with the primary and ultrawide lens placed vertically and the macro lens and LED flash lying horizontally next to it.

The Coral Purple colour has a pinkish shade and shines bright under sunlight. Thanks to the flat back and squarish design, the phone feels premium to hold in the hand.

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It weighs around 187 grams and is just 8mm thick. Despite the larger screen size, the phone is comfortable to hold in the hand with a matte finish on the back. At the back of the phone is the Redmi branding, while the rest of the device remains clean.

Coming to ports and placements, the phone’s right side has a power button and the volume rockers. The left side remains clean, while the top of the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, secondary speaker grille, secondary microphone and IR blaster.

At the bottom of the device, you will be greeted by the USB-C port, SIM tray and speaker grille. The phone also has an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro boasts a 200-megapixel primary camera on the back paired with an 8-megapixel ultrawide and a 2-megapixel macro lens. On the front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie camera.

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During the daytime, the shots taken from the phone are crisp and natural shots, with plenty of detail. The 200-megapixel sensor clearly shines during the day by showing its photography prowess. Similarly, the 8-megapixel ultrawide can take decent shots during the day, although the colour tuning isn’t the same as the primary camera.

At night, the photos taken are surprisingly good, with excellent contrast and details. The phone managed to take amazing shots even in pitch-dark conditions. Moreover, the night mode improves the image quality instead of being a mere gimmick like other phones.

When it comes to video recording, you get support for up to 4K 30 FPS with the primary camera and 1080p 60 FPS with the front-facing camera. There is also support for OIS at 1080p 30FPS.

Regarding selfies, the 16-megapixel front camera takes decent shots with good details and accurate skin tones. Overall, Xiaomi has delivered an excellent camera experience that can rival phones in the 30K-35K price segment.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro packs a 5,100mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging. It can last up to 5 to 6 hours on normal usage, with the refresh rate set to 120Hz and the resolution set to 1.5K.

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Despite the increased screen resolution, the phone can easily last a day thanks to the new 4nm chipset that delivers better efficiency. Furthermore, you can fully charge the device in just 44 minutes with the included 67W fast charger.

Overall, the Redmi Note 13 Pro delivers decent battery backup comparable to other devices in this segment.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro packs a 6.67-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Moreover, the screen has a peak brightness of 1800 nits and comes with Gorilla Glass Victus for protection.

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The slim bezels and the centre punch hole cutout offer a premium look. Despite having a large display, the phone does not feel uncomfortable to hold in the hand.

This is the first time we are getting a display with a 1.5K resolution and Gorilla Glass Victus in this segment. The high-resolution screen is a treat for watching content as you get HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision support.

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I enjoyed watching Season 2 of “What If” on Disney+ Hotstar, and the slim bezels surrounding the screen made it an immersive experience. Moreover, the display is bright enough for outdoor usage, and I did not face any issues under bright sunlight.

Thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, navigating through the UI remains a smooth and fluid experience. Most apps support a high refresh rate, and Xiaomi also provides an option to enable 120Hz on unsupported apps. However, some apps such as BGMI, CODM and Camera cannot be added to this list.

The Redmi Note 13 series also brings an in-display fingerprint sensor for the first time. The optical fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate, working most of the time. Xiaomi has finally ditched its preference for a side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the Note series.

You also get a dual stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support, which is loud enough to fill an entire room. There is enough bass, and the sound does not distort even at the highest volume.

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The Redmi Note 13 series also retains the 3.5mm headphone jack, making it one of the rare phones in this segment to offer wired audio support. Xiaomi also remains one of the few manufacturers to provide an IR blaster on their phones, which is useful for controlling appliances with your phone.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro is the first phone in India to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. This 4nm chipset made its debut in October and is positioned as the successor to the Snapdragon 778G.

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During day-to-day tasks, I faced no lags or stutters during my usage, even with multiple apps open in the background. Most apps remained in the memory thanks to the 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 8GB virtual RAM.

Furthermore, when it comes to gaming, the Adreno 710 can handle most games at the highest possible settings.BGMI supports Ultra HD+Ultra Frame Rates while you get High and Max Frame Rate options in CODM. However, you don’t get support for 90 FPS in either game, which is a bit disappointing.

Regarding benchmarks, the phone has a Geekbench score of 1024 in single-core and 2912 in the multi-core test. Moreover, it throttles to 87 per cent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test, which is excellent for the price. However, we were unable to run the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress test as Xiaomi seems to have blocked it for some reason.

In addition, the phone has an AnTuTu V10 score of 562114, which is similar to the Snapdragon 778G. Overall, the Redmi Note 13 Pro is capable enough of handling your day-to-day tasks and running casual games.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro runs on MIUI 14 based on Android 13 out of the box. Sadly, there is no Android 14 or HyperOS here, which is disappointing given the phone’s price.

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Xiaomi could have used the opportunity to bring the first HyperOS-powered device to India, but instead, we are greeted with the same old MIUI experience. Thankfully, the company has promised an update to HyperOS based on Android 14 for the Redmi Note 13 series soon.

Like any other budget Xiaomi phone, you get plenty of pre-installed bloatware apps, such as Block Puzzle Guardian, Crazy Juicer, Facebook, Jewels Blast, Netflix, Phone Pe, Snapchat, Spotify, etc. Thankfully, you can uninstall them from the Settings.

You also get plenty of customisation options, including themes, Always On Display support, live wallpapers and more. The usual MIUI features include Quick Ball, One-Handed Mode, Screen Recorder, Floating Window, Second Space and Dual Apps.

Xiaomi has also provided a new option to measure heart rate using the in-display sensor on the phone. You need to hold your finger on the sensor for 15 seconds to get a reading. However, the accuracy and usefulness of this feature remain unclear.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro has support for 8GB of virtual memory. The company promises three years of OS updates and four years of security patches.

This means the phone will receive updates till Android 16; however, releasing a device with Android 13 out of the box in 2024 is disappointing, to say the least. Xiaomi should have at least offered Android 14 with MIUI, if not the HyperOS update.