The flagship battle of 2023 is on. Samsung, OnePlus, and iQOO have launched their massive weapons for the yr and now it is Xiaomi’s flip. Xiaomi has launched the Xiaomi 13 Pro in India, the corporate’s first smartphone within the nation to boast cameras tuned by German digital camera maker Leica. Aside from the cameras, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is your typical Android flagship. You get bleeding edge specs like a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC with the newest LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage requirements, a premium LTPO AMOLED show, and rather more.
The spotlight of the Xiaomi 13 Pro is the Leica “co-engineered” digital camera setup, which boasts a 1-inch kind Sony IMX989 main sensor, and a few very cool digital camera tech (extra on that later). The Xiaomi 13 Pro additionally introduces a new design language from Xiaomi, with a sq. digital camera module that sits on the highest left nook of the ceramic again panel.
So the smartphone appears and feels good in your fingers, however how good is that this Android flagship providing in actual life? Let’s discover out.
Xiaomi 13 Pro assessment: Design
The design of the Xiaomi 13 Pro is nice. From the second you maintain the smartphone in your hand, you get a very premium and high-quality in-hand really feel. The scale can be good and compact. The Xiaomi 13 Pro isn’t large like a few of its opponents, and on-hand utilization on the smartphone may be very a lot doable. The Xiaomi 13 Pro additionally feels dense within the fingers. It’s heavy at 229 grams, however the weight distribution is nice so the smartphone doesn’t really feel oddly heavy in your fingers initially. Nonetheless, holding the smartphone for longer intervals of time will make you’re feeling the load. I attempted watching movies on the Xiaomi 13 Pro, and after about quarter-hour, the smartphone began feeling fairly heavy and I wasn’t in a position to maintain it by one hand after watching movies for greater than half-hour.
Coming to the way it appears, up entrance the smartphone has a curved show with a hole-punch orientation. There’s a noticeable 2mm chin, however you largely ignore that since there aren’t any bezels because of the curved display screen format which supplies it a premium look. On the again, Xiaomi has modified issues. There’s a black square-shaped digital camera module on the highest left nook of the again panel. We received the white color for the assessment, and the black digital camera module goes very properly, giving it a “Panda” color scheme. Appears to be like superb. The digital camera module, nevertheless, is simply too thick, making the smartphone slant up whereas sitting on a flat floor. Whereas watching movies or gaming additionally, the digital camera module intrudes together with your grip.
This time round Xiaomi has put a ceramic again panel on the Xiaomi 13 Pro, which is a tougher materials than glass. The ceramic again panel additionally enhances the in-hand really feel of the smartphone, however the gloss end that comes with it’s a little bit of a fingerprint magnet.
General, the smartphone appears superb and premium, however the design may have been given a bit extra thought. The digital camera module is a bit too thick, and the smartphone may be very heavy. Whilst you don’t really feel the load initially because of the good weight distribution, extended utilization makes issues fairly uncomfortable.
Xiaomi 13 Pro assessment: Show
Coming to the show, the Xiaomi 13 Pro makes use of a 6.73-inch curved 10-bit LTPO AMOLED show with a 2K decision and 120Hz refresh fee, together with as much as 1900 nits of claimed peak brightness. We additionally get Corning Gorilla Glass Victus safety for scratches, together with assist for HDR10+ and Dolby Imaginative and prescient. Premium flagship stuff.
Coming to utilization, Xiaomi has given three color profiles for the 13 Pro. These embody ‘Pure, Vivid, and Saturated.’ Within the pure and vivid settings, the colors really feel barely flat, as in comparison with the competitors. Within the saturated setting, as anticipated, the colors are extra vibrant and also you get extra distinction, bringing it extra according to the likes of Samsung and iQOO shows. Now, the flat color tone within the first two color profiles just isn’t fully a unhealthy factor because it offers this show some vary or variation, relying on the consumer’s choice.
The color accuracy is nice, we get an AMOLED panel, which suggests the blacks are deeper and reds are extra vibrant. This show additionally presents a good dynamic vary, and with Dolby Atmos and HDR10+ assist, the main points whereas watching HD content material are additionally glorious. You get to expertise HDR content material on Netflix and Amazon Prime, so that’s nice. The small print are in any other case throughout the UI and whereas gaming can be fairly sharp, there aren’t any tough edges or any form of distortion. The 120Hz refresh fee with the LTPO panel additionally works seamlessly and the show feels slick and snappy all through.
We additionally ran a Calman check on the Xiaomi 13 Pro show and the outcomes have been superb. The show confirmed a mean Gamma of two.214 in Greyscale, in order that is superb. This principally implies that the RGB stability on this show is nice. Additional, the common color temperature got here out to be 6578, which implies that the colors are tremendous correct, which is once more nice. In grayscale, the Delta error got here out to be 2, which is nice for a smartphone show. Surprisingly, the first and secondary colors confirmed virtually no error, that means that that is nearly as good as a show may get. The typical Delta E was 1.74, whereas the max Delta E was 2.5. A max Delta E beneath 3 is taken into account stable for smartphones, so that is sensible.
Now, whereas Xiaomi claims that that is the “brightest show ever” on a smartphone with a peak brightness of 1900 nits, our exams confirmed outcomes removed from these claims. In our Lux Meter check, the show confirmed a most luminance of 968 nits and a minimal luminance of 11 nits. That’s removed from the model’s declare of 1900 nits. This, nevertheless, doesn’t imply that the show has points with visibility. The daylight visibility is on level, by no means did I expertise any drop in both the show sharpness or visibility whereas utilizing it beneath the brilliant solar.
General, that is a good show. Particulars are crisp, colors are correct, with sufficient brightness to make use of in every kind of environments. With the 120Hz refresh fee, swiping by the UI and scrolling on different apps can be slick and really responsive.
Xiaomi 13 Pro: Efficiency and battery
Coming to efficiency, that is the place the Xiaomi 13 Pro shares a lot with different Android flagships of this yr. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip paired with as much as 12GB of RAM. This time round, Xiaomi has additionally used a vapour cooling chamber, as a substitute of the liquid cooling system on the predecessor, the Xiaomi 12 Pro. The efficiency numbers on the Xiaomi 13 are promising and the smartphone is correct up there with its competitors, when it comes to efficiency.
(*13*)
Benchmark scores embody a 12,59,912 rating on AnTuTu, which is the second-highest AnTuTu rating on all smartphones powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. The one 2023 flagship that scores greater than the Xiaomi 13 is the iQOO 11, which scored 12,72,241 factors on AnTuTu in our assessment. On Geekbench, the Xiaomi 13 Pro scored a powerful 1384 factors within the single-core check, and 5153 within the multi-core rating. On different benchmark exams like PC Mark Work 3.0, the Xiaomi 13 Pro scores 14,778 factors, which isn’t the very best within the phase, however nonetheless a superb rating normally.
In a graphics-based benchmark check 3D Mark, the Xiaomi 13 Pro scored 3004 factors, the bottom among the many different Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered smartphones launched in India. Additional, on GFXBench, one other GPU-based benchmark, the Xiaomi 13 Pro once more scored properly, displaying the very best rating in two out of three exams, as in comparison with different Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered smartphones.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro’s UFS 4.0 storage can be fairly quick. On the Androbench storage benchmark, the Xiaomi 13 Pro confirmed the quickest learn and write speeds total, however lagged behind the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely in random learn speeds.
Aside from benchmarks, the expertise of utilizing the Xiaomi 13 Pro was additionally very snappy, and really quick. Be it gaming, day-to-day duties, going by social media, and even utilizing the digital camera, the general expertise of utilizing the Xiaomi 13 Pro is nothing wanting superior, simply the sheer weight of this smartphone makes holding it for longer intervals of time fairly uncomfortable.
The gaming expertise can be superb. The smartphone opens video games as quick as you’d think about on a smartphone, all video games run on the highest-possible settings, and issues are fairly easy. The smartphone additionally doesn’t warmth up as a lot, so plainly the brand new cooling system has labored for Xiaomi right here. Additional, the battery backup is fairly first rate even whereas gaming. For instance, throughout a 15-minute Name of Obligation: Cellular gaming session, the Xiaomi 13 Pro solely misplaced simply 4 % battery. Fairly good. The nice show additionally enhances the expertise. Graphics look good on this smartphone, and naturally, the excessive body fee is a candy benefit.
On Gamebench, the Xiaomi 13 Pro gave a full 60 FPS body fee with a stability of 100% on each the video games we ran the benchmark on – Asphalt 9 and Name of Obligation: Cellular. Now, whereas the Xiaomi 13 Pro presents nice graphics and pace, the smartphone’s weight and the chunky digital camera module come into play once more right here. A lot in order that longer gaming periods are robust on this smartphone.
The battery can be first rate on the Xiaomi 13 Pro. As talked about above, a 15-minute Name of Obligation solely drained 4 % of the battery. A 30-minute video on YouTube on the very best supported decision drained solely 3 % of the battery, and 1 hour of GPS navigation drained 5 % of the smartphone’s battery. Within the video loop check, the place we play an HD video on loop until the battery dies from 0-100, the Xiaomi 13 Pro lasted 12 hours or 720 minutes, which isn’t too unhealthy. In our video loop check, we additionally came upon that the Xiaomi 13 Pro drains the battery a bit sooner between the 75% to twenty% band. Whereas the battery backup is a bit complicated at the second, the charging makes issues good. The Xiaomi 13 Pro prices tremendous quick with 120W quick charging. It took solely 37 minutes for the smartphone to cost from 0-100. Very good.
General, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is a sensible performer. The smartphone did properly in all benchmark exams, apps open and change in a snap, video games run easily and on full graphics, the smartphone doesn’t warmth a lot, and also you get first rate battery backup with tremendous quick charging. Excellent. The one factor going towards the Xiaomi 13 Pro right here is its weight.
Xiaomi 13 Pro: Digital camera
Coming to the principle factor right here. The spotlight of the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Cameras. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is the primary smartphone in India to showcase Xiaomi’s partnership with German digital camera maker Leica. The smartphone sports activities a triple rear digital camera setup that homes a 50MP 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor, together with a 50-megapixel telephoto shooter, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens. Not solely is that this among the finest smartphone cameras when it comes to picture high quality, there’s additionally some very cool digital camera tech on this digital camera module.
Speaking concerning the images of this digital camera, the Xiaomi 13 Pro’s main shooter clicks fantastic pictures. The 1-inch permits an abundance of sunshine in your photos, so the main points are simply sensible out of the first shooter. Photographs are tremendous detailed even in low-light circumstances and in well-lit situations, the smartphone’s black-and-white pictures are epic. 1-inch shooter manages greys and darkish shadows very properly, even in low-light circumstances. For instance, on this picture of a cycle, you’ll be able to clearly see that even in low mild, the picture doesn’t lose any particulars. The sunshine reflection, the patterns on the pillar (subsequent to the cycle), and the shadows are all on level.
Even in shut frames of topics, the first digital camera nails the main points and textures of your topic. For instance, this picture is of a truck’s panel. Not solely did the Leica-powered digital camera get the colors and reflections proper, the main points are completely beautiful, and you may even see the mud patterns on this truck panel. Very good.
After all, this is similar 1-inch sensor because the one we tried within the Xiaomi 12S Extremely final yr, so the main points and colors are sensible, given the abundance of sunshine that the Sony IMX989 shooter permits. Like final yr’s 12S Extremely, this one additionally places out nice pictures in black and white. I’ll absolutely discover myself taking part in round with black-and-white pictures a lot.
Coming to portraits, that is additionally the place the Xiaomi 13 Pro does properly. Now, as a part of Xiaomi’s collaboration with Leica, the businesses have enhanced the portraits on Xiaomi smartphones. We get 4 focal size choices within the portrait mode. These embody 35mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 90mm. In 35mm, the smartphone means that you can click on black and white portraits from a sure distance. In 50mm, the focal size is smaller, that means you received’t have to maneuver nearer to your topic. Right here, nevertheless, you get a “swirly bokeh” impact. Now we have the 75mm portrait, which is your regular portrait and prompts the three.2x optical zoom, utilizing the telephoto lens to click on portraits. Lastly, we get the “gentle focus” 90mm focal size, which additionally will get nearer to the topic.
Photographs out of all these portrait mode choices are fairly good. The 35mm black and white portraits are sensible. The sting detection is nice and the background blur offers a good depth impact. The 50mm “swirly bokeh” impact provides a little bit of a halo impact across the edges, which supplies a very dramatic really feel to your images. Photographs on this mode look superb if you know the way to mess around with the Leica-Xiaomi options supplied right here.
The 75mm portrait is my favorite. This has the precise focal size, and there’s no B/W or swirly results right here, simply plain and easy bokeh mode. The 90mm soft-focus portrait, however, is one thing that appears like will probably be used the least, for the reason that pictures don’t look sharp from this, like how they’re purported to.
Whereas the sting detection and background blur are sensible in portrait mode, there are occasions when the perimeters across the topic are barely gentle, and at instances it doesn’t embody minor particulars whereas specializing in the topic, however that’s one thing that we see with just about each smartphone’s portrait mode and is determined by the topic or the digital camera particular person’s stability.
Additional, this digital camera has a lot extra trickery going round. For instance, there are two color profiles you can choose whereas utilizing the first shooter. These are Leica Genuine and Leica Vibrant. Because the title suggests, the Leica Vibrant mode enhances the colors and highlights a bit, providing you with a extra vibrant or saturated picture. Within the Leica Genuine mode, however, you get extra true-to-life pictures.
This time round, Xiaomi has additionally achieved one thing no different producer has achieved with their digital camera. The telephoto lens on the Xiaomi 13 Pro has a ‘floating lens system’, which makes the lens transfer back and front, relying on in case you are utilizing it for zoom or for macro mode. Mainly, this permits one single sensor to behave as each the telephoto and macro shooter, which makes clicking macro pictures the best I’ve seen on any smartphone. Simply activate the macro, and level your digital camera at the topic. The lens will transfer itself to provide the macro shot of your topic. Rattling cool.
To conclude, that is a sensible digital camera setup. The 1-inch sensor on the 50MP Sony IMX989 shooter is nice. The pictures are tremendous sharp and detailed in every kind of sunshine. The colors stay constant once you change from wide-angle to regular to telephoto in order that’s good. Additional, we get numerous cool digital camera tech to mess around with. There are occasions when this digital camera misses like at instances the portraits are gentle across the edges, or the sharpness is not on level on a regular basis, however we are able to let that go simply, given how properly it performs in each different state of affairs. The one disadvantage of this superior digital camera setup is that that is the explanation for this overly thick digital camera module.
Xiaomi 13 Pro assessment: Verdict
So the Xiaomi 13 Pro is the Chinese language maker’s reply to iQOO, Samsung, and OnePlus in 2023 (with Vivo coming quick at it with the Vivo X90 collection). The primary Leica-branded digital camera smartphone from Xiaomi in India brings the corporate’s newly-established digital camera chops to our shores, together with the high-level efficiency that you simply’d count on from a flagship Android. That is additionally one of many first smartphones to come back with a 1-inch kind digital camera sensor, and the pictures are a nice reflection of how that makes a distinction.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a flagship with no actual weaknesses. The bleeding-edge specs give it sufficient juice to tackle nearly any smartphone on the market, and the digital camera is correct up there with the perfect. The appear and feel of the smartphone can be super-premium, regardless of the heavyweight. It’s a extra well-rounded providing, whereas the iQOO 11 is extra efficiency focussed. The Xiaomi 13 Pro will certainly take the struggle to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely, which was additionally just lately launched with a large give attention to the digital camera. Similar with the OnePlus 11 with its Hasselblad-tuned digital camera. However will the Xiaomi 13 Pro beat its most fierce opponents? Look forward to our detailed comparability developing subsequent!
