Xiaomi has formally launched the 13 sequence telephones internationally, however you can be forgiven for considering not a lot has modified on the 13 Professional in comparison with the equal telephone from final yr.
The massive digital camera bump has been redesigned, positive, however it nonetheless homes a trio of 50Mp rear sensors. Except for that, isn’t this simply the standard boring spec bump we’ve come to affiliate with flagship telephones?
Completely not. Because it seems, the Xiaomi 13 Professional is a considerable improve in comparison with 2022’s 12 Professional. There’s a slight enhance in worth (now £1,099/€1,299), however it’s justified because of 4 key enhancements.
The primary is one you’ve most likely already guessed: cameras. Inside that huge, ugly digital camera bump is a brand new 50Mp sensor – particularly, Sony’s 1in IMX989. That’s the identical lens present in Vivo’s X90 Professional, one of the best digital camera telephone you should buy by our reckoning, so it ought to come as no shock that photographs from the Xiaomi 13 Professional are wonderful.
Element, dynamic vary and publicity are all near greatest in school, whereas swapping the saturated default ‘Vibrant’ mode for ‘Genuine’ will get you a picture that’s impressively true to life. It excels throughout a variety of various situations, together with low mild images.
However that important lens is ably supported by two different 50Mp cameras. The telephoto now gives optical zoom as much as 3.2x, and it’s nice to have an ultrawide lens that doesn’t lead to a noticeable drop in high quality. Alongside an ideal 32Mp selfie digital camera, there aren’t many higher telephone digital camera methods.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Battery life was one of many key weaknesses of the Xiaomi 12 Professional, however that’s not the case on its successor. The 13 Professional can comfortably final a full day, even with excessive brightness, GPS and the 120Hz refresh price enabled.
That’s due partly to a bigger 4820mAh battery (up from 4600mAh) but additionally the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. In addition to delivering top-of-the-line efficiency, the facility effectivity is considerably higher than on the 12 Professional. It’s now one of many few telephones that delivers nice battery life and quick charging – 120W to be precise.
However the different notable improve is one you may not have seen. The Xiaomi 13 Professional has an IP68 score, that means it might probably stand up to mud and submersion in as much as 1.5m of water for as much as half-hour. Contemplating the 12 Professional had no IP score of any description, it’s a giant improve.
Efficiency on the 13 Professional continues to be excellent, whereas the 6.73in, 120Hz OLED show is a pleasure to make use of.
However all these strengths don’t essentially imply you should purchase one. The MIUI 14 software program expertise relies on the most recent Android 13, however it’s a giant departure from the model you is perhaps used to, and never in a great way. A complicated Settings menu, tons of bloatware are only a few of its downsides in comparison with so-called ‘inventory’ Android.
At its £1,099 worth level, that turns into very tough to disregard, particularly when you think about the flagship competitors. However one among Xiaomi’s different new telephones is perhaps extra appropriate.
Xiaomi 13
The £849/€999 common Xiaomi 13 opts for a 6.36in flat show (1080×2400) quite than the curved one on the 12 Professional, however retains its 120Hz refresh price.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
You continue to get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which delivers nice efficiency alongside 8- or 12GB of RAM. Its energy effectivity will even profit battery life, though you’ll should make do with a smaller 4500mAh cell right here.
Wired charging drops to 67W right here, however you continue to get 50W wi-fi charging. IP68 water and dirt resistance additionally makes its strategy to the common Xiaomi 13.
Nonetheless, cameras have had a big downgrade. The 50Mp important lens is way smaller than the Professional’s 1in sensor, whereas the telephoto drops to 10Mp and ultrawide to 12Mp. A 32Mp selfie digital camera stays, although.
Xiaomi 13 Lite
The Xiaomi 13 Lite prices simply £449/€499, however that’s mirrored within the specs.
It drops all the way down to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset and 8GB of RAM, plus a barely smaller 4500mAh battery. The 6.55in 120Hz OLED show is equivalent to the common 13, however there’s no telephoto digital camera and the ultrawide drops to simply 8Mp.
It ought to nonetheless be a stable possibility amongst mid-range telephones, although.