Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Leica It, but Don’t Love It

After a reputation change and the reintroduction of a Professional mannequin final 12 months, it’s extra of the identical for Xiaomi initially of 2023. 

At MWC in late February, the corporate launched two new flagships globally: the 13 and 13 Professional. An much more succesful Extremely mannequin is anticipated in some unspecified time in the future, however Xiaomi has confirmed that there’ll be no half-step ‘S’ replace later within the 12 months. 

From testing the 13 Professional, it’s exhausting to think about a non-gaming cellphone which might be extra succesful than this – maybe solely the Galaxy S23 Extremely. With Qualcomm’s newest silicon, a primary digicam outfitted with an enormous 1in sensor, and a few of the quickest charging round, the machine is sort of unmatched on the subject of {hardware}. 

However acquainted frustrations stay on the software program facet, they usually’re the principle motive this isn’t an on the spot advice.  

Design & construct

• Large, ugly rear digicam module
• New ceramic again
• Return of the IP68 score

Xiaomi has revamped the design of the 13 Professional – simply not in a great way. Many of the cellphone retains its normal smooth look, however the gigantic digicam module stands proud like a sore thumb. 

It displays Xiaomi’s new partnership with digicam firm Leica, together with some massive upgrades to the rear sensors. However there’s no denying it appears ugly, and protrudes considerably from the again of the cellphone.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The impact might be lowered by making use of the silicone case within the field, though even then there’s a major wobble when used face up on a desk. The massive emphasis on cellphone cameras means a flush digicam module isn’t lifelike, however absolutely Xiaomi might’ve accomplished higher than this. 

Whereas the common Xiaomi 13 additionally has an enormous module, it doesn’t stick out practically as a lot. You may’t complain that it appears like all different telephones, at the very least. 

One other key change sees the glass again of the 12 Professional swapped for a ceramic one. It definitely feels very premium, however provides to the full weight considerably. At 229g, it’s a lot heavier than final 12 months’s 12 Professional (205g), and one of many heaviest telephones full cease.  

That rear design can also be extremely reflective, that means it rapidly accumulates noticeable fingerprint smudges. This may be mitigated by popping on a case, which additionally provides much-needed grip to an in any other case slippery machine.  

The 13 Professional is well-built and feels impressively sturdy, however a ceramic rear means will it all the time be weak to shattering than plastic. Whereas the entrance is provided with robust Gorilla Glass Victus, there are not any such ensures for the again.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

One massive enchancment is that there’s now an IP68 score – beforehand seen on the Mi 11, however dropped for final 12 months’s telephones. It means the cellphone is totally protected towards mud and submersion in as much as 1.5m of water for as much as half-hour. 

Color choices are restricted, with simply black and white fashions to select from. However when you’re going to use a case anyway, it doesn’t actually matter. 

It’s additionally price mentioning the vibration motor, which offers delicate haptic suggestions as you navigate the cellphone. It does job of simulating actual button presses, and feels very top quality. 

Xiaomi retains issues easy on the aluminium sides of the cellphone, with simply the ability button and quantity controls on the best, then a SIM tray (helps twin SIM), single downward-firing speaker and USB-C port on the underside. It means there’s no 3.5mm audio jack, however that’s under no circumstances stunning. 

Display & audio system

• Excellent 6.73in OLED show
• Dynamic 120Hz refresh price
• Underwhelming twin audio system

The Xiaomi 13 Professional’s show has solely been barely tweaked in comparison with final 12 months, and it’s functionally similar for most individuals. 

Because it was already among the finest shows on any cellphone, that’s hardly stunning. You continue to get a big 6.73in, 1440×3200 OLED panel, giving it an more and more widespread 20:9 facet ratio. The display is a pleasure to behold, with excellent element and dynamic colors that basically pop.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

It combines with an adaptive refresh price, that means the show might be set to robotically transfer between 1 and 120Hz relying on what you’re doing. This can be a nice approach to steadiness efficiency and battery life, solely supplying you with these slick increased refresh charges once you’ll really profit from them. 

You may manually set it to 60Hz or 120Hz when you’d choose, however the dynamic refresh price is a good characteristic that you simply received’t discover on many telephones. After experiencing the slick, fluid transitions on the 13 Professional, you’ll by no means wish to return to a 60Hz show once more. 

Xiaomi says the display can hit an unbelievable 1900 nits of peak brightness. That’s far increased than most telephones, and also you’ll haven’t any downside utilizing the 13 Professional on brilliant sunny days. Sure, there have been a few these within the UK winter! 

Throughout the show you’ll discover an optical fingerprint sensor which is simple to arrange and works nicely more often than not. Nonetheless, there may be fairly a small goal space to intention for, and any moisture will cease it from unlocking. 

Surprisingly, Xiaomi has determined to ditch the 12 Professional’s quad speaker system, though they weren’t notably spectacular.  

Combining a single downward-firing grille with the earpiece means you continue to get a stereo setup, however the audio hasn’t improved a lot. It’s typically clear and may attain a good quantity with out a lot distortion, however there’s little or no bass or depth to the sound.

Specs & efficiency

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 12GB of RAM
• Excellent efficiency throughout the board
• 256/512GB of non-expandable storage

Xiaomi’s flagship telephones are often outfitted with Qualcomm’s newest and best chips, and the 13 Professional is not any totally different. 

The cellphone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which offers each efficiency and energy effectivity advantages in comparison with the 8 Gen 1 discovered within the Xiaomi 12 Professional. Whether or not you’ll be able to inform them aside is one other matter, however there’s no doubting the wonderful efficiency right here.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Alongside 12GB of RAM on both configuration, the 13 Professional breezes via nearly each job you’ll be able to consider with ease. That features internet searching, texting, watching movies, searching social media and taking photographs, plus rapidly switching between apps and utilizing them side-by-side. 

There’s wasn’t even a touch of stuttering or hesitation all through my testing time, one thing which might’t be mentioned for many telephones. It even extends to cell gaming, with Name of Obligation: Cellular, PUBG Cellular, and Asphalt 9 all remaining clean and responsive. 

Even in these demanding situations, the 13 Professional solely will get barely heat to the contact. Overheating is one thing earlier Snapdragon-powered telephones have struggled with, nevertheless it’s not a difficulty right here. That may change if you wish to play video games for a number of hours, however there are devoted telephones for that. 

The 13 Professional retains up with this 12 months’s different flagships in testing, solely lagging behind these with decrease decision shows, which have a neater time within the graphics-heavy GFXBench. 

When it comes to storage, there are two selections: 256GB or 512GB. There’s no assist for expandable storage. 

Being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 means the 13 Professional has 5G assist, alongside the newest Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E requirements. Xiaomi additionally says it’ll be appropriate with the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 through a software program replace. 

Digicam & video

• Triple Leica 50Mp rear cameras
• Glorious photographs from all three
• Spectacular 30Mp selfie digicam

Xiaomi has teamed up with digicam firm Leica for the 13 collection, with each common and Professional fashions that includes some vital modifications. 

That may not be instantly obvious from the specs, with the hefty rear module nonetheless containing three 50Mp lenses. Nonetheless, that primary sensor is now the a lot bigger 1in Sony IMX989 – the identical as in present digicam champ Vivo X90 Professional and final 12 months’s Xiaomi 12S Extremely – so it’s no shock that the photographs it produces are spectacular.

The cellphone is especially nicely suited to panorama photographs, however structure and road pictures additionally look nice. Nonetheless, with out a devoted depth sensor, the software-based portrait mode is hit or miss. A pretty background blur (which might be adjusted after the photograph is taken) is feasible, nevertheless it usually struggles with edge detection. 

If most of my photographs above look just a little washed out, that’s as a result of they had been taken on a winter day within the UK: that was how the scenes really seemed. However throughout all scenes, you get clear, well-exposed photographs with loads of element and nice dynamic vary. Key elements of the shot are nonetheless clearly seen when cropping in, so that you don’t lose something necessary within the background.

The 50Mp telephoto lens can also be now bigger, that means it presents 3.2x optical zoom moderately than the Xiaomi 12 Professional’s 2x. It means you will get some detailed photographs from fairly a protracted distance away, though counting on digital zoom after that (all the way in which to 70x) results in a speedy decline in high quality. 

Then there’s the 50Mp ultrawide, which presents the identical 115˚ subject of view as its predecessor. Holding the megapixel rely so excessive means there’s solely a slight drop intimately in comparison with the principle sensor, and its versatility is nice in quite a lot of situations. 

As you would possibly count on, there are a great deal of totally different modes to select from within the digicam app. Amongst these, you’ll be able to select between ‘Leica Vibrant’ and ‘Leica Genuine’ modes. I caught with the latter for probably the most half, which lacks the standard saturation of many smartphone cameras however stays impressively true to life.

Should you’d moderately go for the colourful mode, look out for vivid, eye-catching colors that basically stand out. In lots of conditions, you received’t have to do any enhancing earlier than sharing, particularly for a private social media account.

Whereas the principle lens handles low-light environments comparatively nicely, there’s additionally a devoted night time mode. This provides a natural-looking brightening impact with out shedding key particulars or introducing an excessive amount of noise. Just about each cellphone digicam has an evening mode today, however this is likely one of the most spectacular.

The selfie digicam stays at 32Mp, nevertheless it’s nonetheless one of many perfect. Publicity, particulars and colors are all on level, and it does a good job of portrait mode. Make no mistake: this is likely one of the greatest cellphone digicam programs round.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The Xiaomi 13 Professional can report video as much as 8K at 24fps, however the default 1080p at 30fps is a greater possibility for most individuals. Footage received’t rival an iPhone, however OIS on the principle lens means it stays clear and regular – even with a lot of motion. 

Battery & charging

• 4800mAh battery
• Strong all-day battery life
• 120W wired charging, 50W wi-fi

Battery life was a key weak spot of the Xiaomi 12 Professional, however that’s not the case with its successor. The mixture of a bigger 4800mAh cell and improved Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 energy effectivity means it could actually now comfortably final a full day – even with some intensive duties resembling gaming or utilizing GPS. 

That’s mirrored within the PCMark battery check, which simulates real-world world utilization at a reasonably typical 200 nits of brightness. A time of 11 hours 56 minutes is nicely over 4 hours higher than its predecessor, and above common among the many high-end telephones we’ve not too long ago examined. 

With the development right here, the 13 Professional is likely one of the few telephones that delivers nice battery life and charging speeds.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The 120W adapter within the field will get you a full cost in lower than half an hour, whereas it additionally helps 50W wi-fi charging and 10W reverse wi-fi charging. The latter is nice for rapidly charging equipment resembling a watch or cellphone, nevertheless it helps all gadgets with the Qi commonplace. 

Software program & updates

• MIUI 14 over Android 13
• Irritating, unintuitive software program expertise
• Three years of Android model updates

The 13 and 13 Professional are the primary Xiaomi telephones to run Android 13 out of the field. Nonetheless, each have Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 pores and skin excessive, which stays the one greatest motive to not purchase the 13 Professional. 

Basically, MIUI 14 dilutes what makes Android so nice, then provides a garish color scheme and annoying apps you’ll be able to’t uninstall. It’s completely usable, however a major downgrade in comparison with the software program expertise on many different telephones. 

Key variations in comparison with ‘inventory’ Android embrace a break up notification shade and management centre, vibrant icons, and a redesigned Settings menu. All of those take the polish off the consumer expertise, moderately than including to it.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Then there are all of the pre-installed apps, and there are some unusual selections right here. Xiaomi appears to suppose everybody needs to make use of the likes of TikTok, LinkedIn, and Solitaire, although at the very least these might be uninstalled.  

The corporate has its personal apps for messaging, safety, file administration, internet searching and lots of extra, none of which you’ll be able to take away. Your greatest various is to cover these within the app drawer and by no means use it, however they shouldn’t be there within the first place. 

I’ve used a couple of Xiaomi telephones now, so know what to anticipate. However there’s a major studying curve when you haven’t tried one earlier than. 

When it comes to software program assist, Xiaomi commits to 3 years of safety updates and 4 of safety patches. Which means you’ll be able to count on Android 14, 15, and 16, plus patches till 2027. 

That is roughly according to different Android producers, albeit behind each Samsung and Apple. 

Value & availability

As anticipated, the Xiaomi 13 Professional doesn’t come low cost.  

It’ll set you again £1,099/€1,299 for the 12+256GB mannequin – the one one out there within the UK.

Pre-orders are reside now through the Xiaomi web site, forward of the cellphone’s launch on 14 March. At that time, you’ll additionally be capable to purchase one from Currys and Argos.

As normal, the machine received’t be offered within the US. 

The plain various is Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Plus, which begins at $999/£1,049/€1,219. However there are many nice options in our greatest smartphone chart. 

Verdict

The Xiaomi 13 Professional takes what made the 12 Professional so nice and makes it even higher. However that doesn’t imply you can purchase one.  

Efficiency from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is completely implausible, with its improved energy effectivity and a bigger battery delivering vital battery life enhancements. New Leica cameras are near one of the best you’ll discover on any cellphone, with nice outcomes throughout all 4 lenses. 

However an enormous new digicam bump interrupts an in any other case smooth design, whereas the software program expertise stays a serious supply of frustration. 

At this flagship value level, these shortcomings are exhausting to disregard. The Xiaomi 13 Professional is a good cellphone, nevertheless it’s not best-in-class. 

Specs

• Android 13 w/ MIUI 14 
• 6.73in LTPO WQHD+ OLED 120Hz curved show, 20:9, 240Hz contact sampling, HDR10+, Dolby Imaginative and prescient 
• In-display fingerprint sensor 
• Gorilla Glass Victus 
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 
• 12GB RAM LPDDR5 
• 256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 non-expandable storage
• Cameras: 
  • 50Mp, f/1.9 primary digicam with OIS 
  • 50Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam 
  • 50Mp, f/2.0 3.2x zoom telephoto digicam 
  • 32Mp, f/2.0 front-facing digicam 
• Twin audio system with Dolby Atmos 
• Twin-SIM 
• 5G 
• WiFi 6E 
• Bluetooth 5.3 
• IP68 
• USB-C 
• 4820mAh battery 
• 120W wired charging 
• 50W wi-fi charging 
• 10W reverse wi-fi charging 
• 162.9 x 74.6 x 8.4 mm 
• 229g 
• Launch colors: Black, White