Equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snadragon chip and impressive Leica photo modules, the new Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro smartphones are coming to France, accompanied by a more affordable 13 Lite model.
As expected, during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 trade fair which has just opened in Barcelona, Xiaomi announced the arrival in France of its high-end smartphones Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro, accompanied of a much more affordable Xiaomi 13 Lite – an Ultra model is also planned later. As a reminder, they had already been shown in depth in December 2022 when they were released in China. No real surprise; therefore, for the new flagships which present themselves as direct competitors of the iPhone 14 and the new Samsung Galaxy S23.
Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro: very high-end smartphones
The Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro are not distinguished by their design, whether in terms of colors, materials, screens and borders, but both rely on a simple, refined and elegant appearance. Thus, the Xiaomi 13 is available in three colors, white (White Edition), black and green (Wilderness Green) with a glass back, quite classic therefore – note however that China has the right to a model with a coating blue faux leather, a bit like film cameras, which the manufacturer calls “nano tech skin” and which is very difficult to stain, all in a thickness of 7.9 mm and a weight of 189 g. For its part, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is displayed in white and black with a “nano-microcrystalline ceramic” coating – again, China had the right to blue with a faux leather coating – for 8.4 mmm of thickness and 229 g.
Both are equipped with an OLED screen – 6.36 inches for the Xiaomi 13 and 6.73 inches for the 13 Pro – with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, up to 1,900 nits of brightness and much thinner bezels as seen in the photos. The classic model has a flat screen with a definition of 1080 x 2400 pixels for a ratio of 20:9; with edges of 1.61 millimeters to 1.81 millimeters – making them the thinnest on the market, ahead of those of the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Phone 14, which measure 2.4 mm – and the Pro model of edges of curved screen surrounded by metal and a definition in 2K. For both models, Corning Gorilla Glass protects the screen. Finally, the smartphones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance – so they can be completely submerged for prolonged periods – which is expected of any high-end smartphone – however this was not the case. Xiaomi 12. The Xiaomi 13 Pro and standard offer connectivity to the WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 standard.
Xiaomi’s new series is powered by the all-new 4nm-engraved Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The SoC incorporates an eight-core processor, consisting of a high-performance core clocked at 3.19 GHz, four secondary cores at 2.8 GHz and three efficient cores at 2.0 GHz. Qualcomm announces performance up by 35% and better energy efficiency by 40%. The chip should therefore not heat up as much as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but still a little. In-game, at 60 FPS, the smartphones would peak at 43.1°C, which is still hot, given that the battery starts to be damaged above 40°C. It also announces an increase of 25% for the graphics part compared to its predecessor. The Xiaomi 13 are among the first smartphones to ship it – just after the Vivo X90 Pro+. Enough to be enthusiastic about the performance of the Xiaomi, especially since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is presented by its manufacturer as capable of “revolutionize high-end smartphones for extraordinary experiences“. The phones should therefore perform all tasks, even the heaviest ones, without flinching, whether it is video processing or gaming. Finally, Xiaomi’s new smartphones ship MIUI 14, the new version of its overlay for Android 13, which comes with a serious performance boost as well as some cool new home screen features.The Xiaomi 13 has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro has the right at 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.
Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro: more impressive photo modules than ever
The photo part of the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro was particularly highlighted by the manufacturer. Indeed, the smartphones are stamped Leica, the German partner of the manufacturer for a few months – and which allows smartphones to take advantage of its lenses and its Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant photo modes – and supported by Sony’s IMX989 on smartphones Pro and Ultra. They both adopt a P-shaped module with a square design and three sensors. The Xiaomi 13 has a triple camera, with a very high quality 50 megapixel main sensor – a format that allows you to benefit from larger photosensitive elements, and therefore to collect more light –, an ultra wide 12 megapixel and a of 10 megapixels. As for the photo block of the 13 Pro, which also seems a little thicker than that of the classic model, it is composed of a one-inch type sensor – the same as that of the 12S Ultra, which was reserved for the Chinese market – of 50 megapixels, and two other cameras for the ultra wide-angle and the telephoto lens of 50 megapixels each. Finally, in the center of the screen is a 32-megapixel sensor for selfies. Truly impressive setups! It remains to be seen how Xiaomi will manage the photo algorithms.
But if the two smartphones promise to be faster and more powerful than ever, Xiaomi has promised not to make any concessions on their autonomy. So, the Xiaomi 13 packs a 4,500mAh battery with 67W fast charging and 50W wireless charging, while the Pro model packs a 4,820mAh battery with 120W fast charging, wireless charging. 50W wire and 10W reverse charging. However, even if the batteries are not that big, the new phones from Xiaomi should have excellent autonomy according to the statements of the firm. Indeed, the new SoC is much more energy efficient, with Qualcomm citing power reductions of 40-45%. Xiaomi even promises that the Xiaomi 13 will offer better autonomy than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the benchmark in the field! The bet is on!
Xiaomi 13 Lite: an affordable model with a concession on the photo part
The Xiaomi 13 Lite, the affordable version of the series, comes in black, blue and pink, for dimensions of 159.2 × 72.7 × 7.23 mm. In terms of design, it looks exactly like the Civi 2 model, released in September 2022 exclusively in China, with its rounded edges, a photo block made up of the two largest sensors in a circle and a smaller sensor below. , and a dual front camera punched out in the display – which incidentally visually resembles the Dynamic Island of Apple’s latest smartphone. Inevitably, the Xiaomi 13 Lite is much less powerful than the 13 and 13 Pro, but it does not take over the characteristics of its Chinese big brother. It features a 6.55-inch AMOLED screen with a definition of 2,400 × 1,080 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a brightness of up to 1,000 nits. It must be content with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip, 8 GB of RAM and a storage capacity of 128 GB or 256 GB.
The Lite model has the right to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, and is equipped with a single speaker compatible with Dolby Atmos. Like the Xiaomi 13, it has a 4,500 mAh battery rechargeable at 67 W. To offer a more affordable price, the Xiaomi 13 Lite makes concessions on the photo side. Thus, it has a 50-megapixel IMX766 main sensor from Sony, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle and a 2-megapixel macro. For its part, the front part of the smartphone has the right to a 32-megapixel seflie sensor and an 8-megapixel depth sensor.
Xiaomi 13 Lite, 13 and 13 Pro: release date and price
If the new high-end smartphones have been available in China since December 11, as usual we had to wait before seeing the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro arrive in France. Thus, the smartphones – Xiaomi 13 Lite included – will arrive in France on March 8, but the 13 and 13 Pro are already on pre-order. Note that, unlike the Xiaomi 12 Ultra which was only available in China, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has confirmed that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be available in France later in 2023!
As expected with inflation – the latest high-end models from other manufacturers, like the iPhone 14, are more expensive than usual – prices have been revised upwards. As a reminder, in France, the Xiaomi 12 cost between 869 and 1,099 € when they were released. Thus, the price of the Xiaomi 13 is 1,000 euros for the 8 GB – 256 GB configuration, while that of the Xiaomi 13 Pro is 1,300 euros for the 12 GB – 256 GB configuration. Finally, the Xiaomi 13 Lite is at 500 euros in its 8 GB – 128 GB version. And good news for those who pre-order a Xiaomi series 13, since the Chinese manufacturer is offering them a 43-inch Xiaomi TV P1E connected 4K television! A large screen to complete the small one: who says better?
