Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro review - this smartphone has no competitors!

Hi friends! We're bursting at you again with a new interesting review. This time we will discuss not the junior flagship, but a budget model with quite decent characteristics. This is Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro, the price of which is about 200 dollars.

A little earlier, we told you about the older model - Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus , and it definitely came out as "TOP for the money". But the basic version should also please with a set of cool parameters. Maybe the Redmi Note 13 Pro is the new budget flagship that beats all its competitors? Take a seat in a warm place and start reading the Redmi Note 13 Pro review with us.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro review - this smartphone has no competitors!

Specifications

Complete set

Design, materials, dimensions

Display quality

Productivity

Firmware

Cameras

Autonomy

Price and results

Video review

Specifications

This is the set of characteristics demonstrated by Redmi Note 13 Pro. You immediately want to pay attention to the screen with a resolution of 1.5K and a peak brightness of 1800 nits, a mid-level Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor and a 200-megapixel main camera. These are more than good parameters for a budget device, the cost of which varies within 200 dollars.

But we remember that the previous Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G model was excellent and we also called it "TOP for the money". So, has the new phone been leaked, or can you not hesitate and buy its predecessor? Let's figure it out.

Complete set

The first in line is the Redmi Note 13 Pro configuration. The phone comes to us in a nice white box with gold lettering. Inside the package, everything is standard, except for the cover. Now the complete pencil case looks at least a little like a normal high-quality accessory: instead of a silicone cover, we have a black cover with a matte finish. It looks good, and the quality is decent.

All other components do not cause surprise or delight - this is a USB cable, a 67 W power supply, a paper clip for opening the SIM tray and waste paper. The protective film takes its rightful place on the smartphone screen, so you don't have to worry about it. At this point, we put aside the boring configuration and move on to the more interesting aspects of Redmi Note 13 Pro.

Design, materials, dimensions

The appearance of Redmi Note 13 Pro can be called cute, but without any frills or highlights. The materials of the body are simple and standard for a budget person - a glass back panel and plastic faces. In the hand, the device does not feel exactly cheap, but there are no traces of premiumness.

Redmi Note 13 Pro cannot boast of compact dimensions. This is a full-fledged "shovel" with dimensions of 161.2 x 74.3 x 8 mm and a weight of 187 grams. It is good that the weight of the smartphone does not exceed 200 grams, but still it cannot be called light. The dimensions have practically not changed compared to the predecessor.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro's screen is completely flat, which will appeal to users who can't stand curved displays. The extremely thin frames that look expensive are definitely pleasing.

The fingerprint scanner is located under the screen and works smartly, and immediately from sleep mode. Among the interfaces, it is worth noting the audio jack, the presence of which is a rarity in phones. But memory card support was not added.

Our guest today is offered in four colors. They are white, black, blue (which is actually green) and purple. We have a white version on the test with cool divorces that resemble marble. It looks good, but it's more a matter of taste.

Is the Redmi Note 13 Pro very different from its predecessor? No, the difference is minimal. The dimensions, the shape of the faces and the materials of the case are the same. Only the camera block has changed, which has become much larger. Now the cameras fall more into the eye and look somewhat brutal. Otherwise, there are no changes.

If you compare Redmi Note 13 Pro with 13 Pro Plus, it is worth noting the lack of full moisture protection in the basic version. The smartphone should be protected from falling into water, although you can not be afraid of splashes thanks to the IP54 protection standard.

Proximity sensor is software and needs to be taken into account. It often malfunctions. Unfortunately, this is the original problem of Redmis, which is absent only in some models of the brand.

So, what can we say about the design of Redmi Note 13 Pro as a result. The phone looks good, but the class of the device is guessed. There is nothing special in appearance. And we did not notice any improvement compared to the Note 12 Pro.

Display quality

The screen of Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro has been significantly pumped. Absolutely all parameters have improved here, which is very cool. Let's go in order. The resolution is now 1220 x 2712 pixels (so-called 1.5K), while the predecessor had just 1080 by 2400 pixels. The peak brightness of the Redmi Note 13 Pro has increased to 1,800 nits, as has the pixel density of 446 ppi versus 395 ppi in the Note 12 Pro 5G.

The refresh rate of the screen has not changed - it is the good old 120 Hz, which is enough for the head. It would be pointless to hope that a frequency of 144 Hz will be added to the budget segment, but it is not needed here. The changes even affected the screen protection: today's novelty received Gorilla Glass Victus instead of Gorilla Glass 5.

Sure, it all looks incredibly cool on paper, but in reality you won't notice much improvement in brightness. In everyday use, it is impossible to see the peak brightness of 1800 nits. If you compare the brightness with its predecessor, there is no visual difference. Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G also has a bright and high-quality display. Of course, this does not diminish the advantages of the novelty.

PWM performance is another strong point of our guest today. PWM is just minimal. You just look at these options:

• 100% - 4%
• 75% - 4%
• 50% - 6%
• 35% - 5%
• 25% - 13%
• 10% - 14%
• 0% - 10%

You can set a small brightness of the display and not be afraid of harmful radiation. This is especially important for people sensitive to PWM.

The display of the Redmi Note 13 Pro definitely gets top marks from us. Everything is perfect in it, from the thickness of the frames to the color rendering. There are simply no such screens in the budget segment, so Xiaomi is well done.

Read also: Review of Motorola Edge 40 Neo - again a hit and a challenge for Xiaomi?

Productivity

Now you need to consider the “stuffing” of the Redmi Note 13 Pro. After all, the manufacturer pleased us with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor. This is a mid-budget chip that does not belong to the entry level. And in the budget segment it is very important.

The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is significantly more powerful than the Snapdragon 778G and Mediatek Dimensity 1080, which is installed in the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G. These chips are 6-nanometer, while the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is made using a 4-nanometer process. Still, you shouldn't confuse this processor with the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, which is head and shoulders above the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, and it definitely couldn't be installed in a budget device.

We tested the performance of the Redmi Note 13 Pro both in synthetic tests and in real heavy toys and everyday use. Let's start with synthetics. The throttling of computing cores is quite noticeable - the drop in performance is about 30%. But video cores do not throttle at all. You can familiarize yourself with all the graphs in the images below.

Please note that we conducted our tests after updating the smartphone to the latest firmware at the moment - version 14.0.11.0. TNRCNXM. This is important, because you have probably seen tests on the Internet from Chinese bloggers who got acquainted with the smartphone earlier, on an older assembly. In the updated version, as you can see, performance in synthetic tests is fine. At least this was the result we had.

For everyday use, the power of the chip is more than enough. At a refresh rate of 120 Hz, everything flies, using a smartphone is as comfortable as possible (if this can be said about a device with Chinese firmware).

Everything is fine in games too. You will even be able to play Genshin Impact at maximum graphics settings, which is simply unheard of for a budget player. Yes, sometimes there will be micro-friezes, but in general the result is excellent.

We can conclude that the performance of Redmi Note 13 Pro is significantly better than that of the previous model. And these are not empty words - the new chip really shows itself from an excellent side.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro has a lot of memory options – from 8/128 to 16/512 GB. You can see the full list of modifications in the table with technical characteristics. But it should be taken into account that not all versions will appear on the global market.

The memory types could be newer, especially in the non-volatile memory. Agree that UFS 2.2 is already a bit outdated. The RAM works on the LPDDR 5 standard, which is also not super new.

Firmware

As in the case of Redmi Note 13 Pro+, the novelty is currently only available for the Chinese market. Accordingly, if you order this device now, you will have to put up with a Chinese shell until the global release.

Then it is simply necessary to flash to the global one, since the Chinese shell does not contribute to comfortable use at all. There is no Ukrainian language here, Google services are not installed, band 20 and band 7 do not work .

If you want to avoid all these problems, just wait for the global version and then calmly buy a smartphone in our country. Of course, the price will be much higher than the Chinese version, but there is nothing you can do about it.

Cameras

Let's move on to the discussion of the Redmi Note 13 Pro cameras. To make it easier for you, we have compared with the Plus version. It would seem that these models should be photographed in the same way, because on paper their cameras are no different. This is a main 200-megapixel module and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle.

But in a real comparison, there is a difference, and it is significant. Unfortunately, the situation is not in favor of Redmi Note 13 Pro. In daylight, it is perfectly clear that the basic model loses to the older one. By all parameters, the Note 13 Pro Plus shoots better.

At night, the Redmi Note 13 Pro also loses, and it is clearly visible. The results are, let's say, quite mediocre. The Note 13 Pro+ does better, but even this model is far from a camera phone.

Color rendering and skin tone are also better on Redmi Note 13 Pro+. You can verify this by looking at the attached photos.

The situation is similar with photos taken with macro and ultrawide lenses.

Even photos with a resolution of 200 MP turn out worse in Redmi Note 13 Pro, although the parameters with the Plus version are exactly the same. Most likely, a thing in software processing, on which great savings were made.

You will be surprised, but even last year's Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G takes better photos than its successor. The moment is unpleasant, because we expected more from the camera of the new Redmi. But there are no miracles, friends. The manufacturer still had to save on something, and he chose cameras. The results aren't terrible and you can use the camera, but it's an average result.

But the photos on the front camera are not much different, and although here Redmi Note 13 Pro does not lose to the Plus version.

The situation is the same with video recording on the front panel. By the way, the maximum quality is only 1080p with 60 frames per second.

The main camera can record video in 4K at 30 frames per second, and even has hybrid stabilization. But still, we see that the picture jumps when walking. The Note 13 Pro+ also has jitter, albeit less. The sound is written at an average level.

That's how things are, friends. We can even call the cameras the weak point of the Redmi Note 13 Pro. If everything was fine with the screen and processor, then there are already complaints about photo and video recording. But let's remember the $200 price tag and not get too upset.

Autonomy

Let's talk about the battery life of the Redmi Note 13 Pro. And here we will not tell you anything new. The smartphone received a battery with a capacity of 5100 mAh, while the predecessor had 5000 mAh. In actual use, there will be no difference.

We consistently get 1.5 days of work with moderate use. It is possible to reach two days, but then the intensity of use will have to be reduced.

Charging at 67 W is not bad, but you won't surprise anyone with such power. The manufacturer claims that the device will charge up to 100% in 44 minutes - this is fast, but not lightning fast.

Price and results

It's time to sum up. As we have already said, the Chinese version of the Redmi Note 13 Pro is offered at a price starting at $190. We can assume that the global in Ukraine will cost about 13-14 thousand hryvnias in official stores. You can find a model on the "gray" market for about UAH 12,000. And this is a very good price.

But does it make sense to buy Redmi Note 13 Pro at all, if you can already order the global version of Note 12 Pro and not worry about it? After all, in fact, the only difference between the novelty is the new processor. Iron is really good, but only those who play demanding games will feel its full appeal. In everyday use, both models cope equally well.

Screen? Yes, it is better than the Redmi Note 13 Pro, but the display quality of the predecessor is also at a high level. And rest assured that in real life you won't notice all these technical improvements, be it peak brightness or pixel density.

In terms of cameras, the predecessor is even better, and the autonomy is the same. It turns out that the upgrade is not so big. But this in no way makes the Redmi Note 13 Pro a bad smartphone. It is definitely one of the best (if not the best) in the budget segment. And the only worthy competitor is, in fact, the Redmi Note 12 Pro. This is how interesting internal competition has emerged in Xiaomi.

The final decision, as always, is yours. And we say goodbye on this. Don't forget to watch our video review and write if you liked the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro. Before meeting!

Pros:

• Complete set with a high-quality cover;
• Cute design;
• Protective glass Gorilla Glass Victus;
• Very thin frames around the screen;
• Rear glass cover;
• The presence of an audio jack;
• Screen resolution 1.5K;
• Peak brightness 1600 nits;
• No PWM issues;
• Powerful processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 s Gen 2;
• Many memory options;
• Excellent autonomy;
• 67-watt charging;
• Low price.

Cons:

• Plastic body frame;
• There is no full moisture protection;
• There are problems with the proximity sensor;
• So far, only the Chinese version;
• Not very new memory standards;
• Average cameras.

Video review