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Long-term Evaluation of Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G: A decent phone that could have been more reasonably priced
While there's nothing majorly incorrect about this phone, there are superior options in the same price bracket, many of which are from the same umbrella corporation.
Benefits: Sturdy construction and polished look, Dust and splash protection certified by IP54, Crisp and dynamic AMOLED screen with Dolby Vision, Adequate processing capabilities, Reliable primary camera, Solid battery life with 67W rapid charging.
Disadvantages: MIUI is nearly impossible to use. The macro camera is subpar and has trouble focusing from a close range. The price should be more market competitive.
Score: 3.5 out of 5. Cost: Between Rs 25,999 and Rs 29,999.
Xiaomi has been in India for ten years, and their Note series phones continue to be some of the most well-liked mobile devices in the country. They initially gained popularity as affordable, high-quality phones that offered excellent value. Over time, they've transitioned into the luxury category, incorporating more advanced features. The most recent Redmi Note 13 series is arguably their most expensive yet.
Currently, the series comprises of three phone models – the Note 13, Note 13 Pro, and Note 13 Pro+, listed in ascending order of their processing capacity, features, and cost. Today, we're going to delve into the details of the Note 13 Pro, which aims to strike a balance between the other two models. The smartphone market in India priced between 25K to 30K is extremely competitive and brimming with superb choices. Does the Redmi Note 13 Pro have what it takes to stand out in this crowded market? Let's discover.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G may not boast a one-of-a-kind design, but its aesthetic appeal is undeniable. We reviewed the Aurora Purple model, a visually soothing option with its light, pastel hues. Although the phone is encased in a plastic frame, it still maintains a solid build and finish – the frosted glass back being a notable feature. Even though there's no explicit mention of scratch resistance, we've been unable to mark it during the previous month. However, it's worth noting that we take great care in handling our devices.
The rear of the phone isn't prone to fingerprint or smudge stains, and the same goes for the casing. The phone has a smooth finish with no harsh lines and feels balanced and comfortable to hold. It has a weight of roughly 187 grams and boasts a sleek design, thanks to its 8 mm thickness. The phone also impresses with its extremely narrow screen borders, a nice feature to find in mid-tier smartphones. The right side of the phone houses both the volume control and power button, with nothing on the left side.
The base of the device features a slot for the SIM card, a speaker, and a USB-C port for charging. The other speaker is positioned on the upper edge, accompanied by a 3.5 mm jack for headphones and an infrared blaster. There's a fingerprint scanner built into the display that works effectively, although it would be more conveniently located if it were an inch higher on the screen. The volume and power buttons are well-placed.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G's display is a standout feature. The device boasts a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution surpassing Full HD at 2712 x 1220 pixels. It offers a variable refresh rate of 120 Hz, which can be adjusted between 30 Hz and 120 Hz based on the content shown, and has a maximum brightness of 1800 nits. What sets this phone apart is its 12-bit display, capable of supporting roughly 68 billion color variations. However, there isn't much content currently available that can fully utilize this feature.
The display of the Note 13 Pro is compatible with Dolby Vision, which enhances the vibrancy and contrast of videos in that HDR format. Its screen is shielded from scratches and breaks by a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus layer. In Standard mode, the clarity and color representation are outstanding, and Vivid mode also delivers impressive results. There's also a Saturated mode that intensifies colors, but it's not entirely precise. Additionally, it offers several manual screen calibration options, from tweaking the color temperature to modifying the hue, saturation, contrast, and gamma.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G's hardware and performance score a 3.5 out of 5. Xiaomi could have made improvements in this area, but let's first look at what they offer. The smartphone is driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor, paired with either 8GB or 12GB LPDDR4X RAM. Storage capacity options are either 128GB or 256GB UFS 2.2, but there's no slot for a memory card to increase it. Even though we don't anticipate UFS 4.0 storage in this category, Xiaomi could have chosen the quicker UFS 3.1 storage over 2.2.
Returning to the SoC, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 delivers satisfactory performance in everyday tasks. However, it's noticeably less robust than its counterpart, the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chip, as we'll discuss further in this section. The performance is adequate for daily activities such as using social media, taking photos, web browsing, video viewing or juggling multiple apps. It's also compatible with most of the latest games, but you'll need to reduce the graphic settings considerably to achieve a respectable frame rate.
Even with continuous use, the phone doesn't become worryingly hot, and its performance doesn't significantly drop when it's under pressure, which is beneficial. The only issue is that the Qualcomm chip lacks robust power, and it doesn't quite match the feel of an upgraded Snapdragon 7 series processor. To get a better understanding, let's compare some common benchmark scores with those from the Poco F5, which uses a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2.
In the Geekbench 6 testing, the Note 13 Pro posted scores of 1027 in the single-core test and 2945 in the multi-core test. On the other hand, the Poco F5 scored 1133 in the single-core test and 4346 in the multi-core test. In the PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark, the Note 13 Pro received a score of 11,633, while the Poco F5 got 13,419. The biggest discrepancy in performance was observed in the gaming benchmarks, where the F5's scores were about 2.5X higher than the Redmi's. In the 3D Mark Wild Life benchmark, the two smartphones scored 7396 (at an average of 44.3 fps) and 3024 (at an average of 18.1 fps) respectively.
Interestingly, the Poco F5's 3D Mark scores are nearly equal to those of the OnePlus Nord 3, which is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chip, a well-liked and stronger phone costing less than 30K. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is decent enough for a phone priced under 25K, but it seems slightly inadequate for a device priced below 30K. Aside from that, everything else is generally satisfactory, with little to no issues to raise.
The speakers emit a strong, impactful sound with satisfactory stereo distinction. The call reception and quality were acceptable during trials on this phone, which is compatible with 5G. It offers wireless connection options such as Bluetooth 5.2 and dual-band WiFi that supports a/b/g/n/ac protocols. For wired data transmission, it only accommodates USB 2.0 via the USB-C port.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G operates on Android 13 and MIUI 14. As someone who has previously used a phone with MIUI, I was aware of what to anticipate. The user interface is fairly easy to understand, even for those transitioning from a non-Xiaomi Android phone. However, the overall experience can feel messy due to the abundance of pre-installed bloatware on the device. Additionally, the incessant irrelevant notifications contribute to the overall distraction and hinder productivity.
We comprehend that this is a strategy to maintain cost effectiveness, however, it's high time that Xiaomi curbs this practice or at least control it. Currently, upon setting up the phone, users are bombarded with a flood of notifications and alerts which can be quite daunting, thus diminishing the overall user experience significantly. I like to refer to such user interfaces as clutter-ware. And importantly, it adversely affects the battery life as well.
Indeed, a significant number of these built-in applications can be removed (although not all), and numerous alerts can be turned off if you really put your mind to it. However, this could be an unwanted chore for a typical user who might be unaware that it's even possible. It's anticipated that HyperOS will tackle this issue; we can always remain optimistic. The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G is projected to receive an update to Android 14 featuring HyperOS in the near future.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G's camera capabilities score a 3.5 out of 5. It features a triple camera system on the rear, including a 200MP primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP macro lens. The company has not provided details about the sensors incorporated in these cameras. However, it's clear that the main camera handles the majority of the work, while the other two cameras play lesser roles, with the macro lens being particularly less prominent.
The 8MP ultra-wide camera, with a field of view of 118 degrees, performs quite well when there's ample lighting. The images it captures carry a fair amount of detail, making them suitable for sharing on social media without close inspection of each pixel. Surprisingly, the dynamic range occasionally surpasses that of the primary camera under good lighting conditions, as evident from the waterfront images taken. You can find the link to the untouched sample photos at the end of this part.
Don't use the ultra-wide camera when there's not enough light; instead, use the main camera in such situations. The main camera, a 200MP unit, employs 16:1 pixel binning, resulting in 12.5MP photos. It generally produces satisfactory outcomes with accurate color rendition, dynamic range, and detail, especially in adequate lighting. If you want to cut out a portion of the photo later, you also have the choice to take 200MP photos.
This phone lacks a telephoto lens, but it does provide 2X and 4X zoom options in its camera application, cleverly utilizing the available 200 megapixels. The pictures taken at 2X and 4X zoom quality are quite impressive, displaying sufficient detail. However, contrary to the manufacturer's assertion, they aren't lossless. They are still suitable for use up to 4X in well-lit conditions, and up to 2X in dim lighting. Anything beyond these limits tends to result in blurry and grainy images.
The primary camera performs exceptionally well in dim lighting conditions when Night mode is activated. Interestingly, the colors appear more precise when Night mode is switched off, but the finer details are considerably lacking. With Night mode on, the images taken are strikingly clear, with barely any noise and a satisfactory level of detail. Some color hues may appear slightly altered, but not so much that it drastically changes the image. Considering that this phone costs less than 30K, its performance is more than satisfactory.
The photos of individuals taken with the portrait mode turn out decently, with proper distinction, but the results may vary for different subjects. Some minor problems with focus can occur when taking photos from a distance of roughly 20 to 30 cm from an object, as evidenced by the sample photos. This isn't precisely macro photography, for which there's a specific 2MP camera, although this isn't particularly impressive, much like most 2MP macro cameras. The images often appear lackluster.
The front camera, with a resolution of 16MP, provides satisfactory selfie results, although not extraordinary. It has the ability to record videos at a resolution of 1080p, with a frame rate of either 30 or 60 fps. The back cameras of the Redmi Note 13 Pro are capable of recording up to 4K resolution videos at 30 fps and 1080p videos at up to 60 fps, with gyro EIS support. The phone also enables you to record slow-motion videos in Full HD at 120 fps and in 720p at a maximum of 240 fps. The 1080p and 4K videos that it captures are clean and have decent stabilization.
Visit this link to view unedited pictures taken with the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G:
The battery life of the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G is quite impressive, particularly after getting rid of some preloaded applications and turning off irrelevant notifications. The device is powered by a 5100 mAh battery, which can provide a day and a half of usage under moderate conditions. The manufacturer includes a 67W rapid charger that is purported to fully charge the device in 44 minutes. However, in our trials, we found it took 52 minutes to charge from 0 to 100 per cent using the provided charger. While this may not be the quickest charging time, it's still reasonably good.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G is available for Rs 25,999 for the version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, Rs 27,999 for the version with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and Rs 29,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage version. After evaluating its capabilities and performance, we believe that Xiaomi could have been a little more competitive with its pricing. Considering that the Redmi Note series is known for its affordable pricing, this seems a bit steep. The phone, however, is not bad at all and offers a robust range of features along with a satisfactory performance. The problem is just that the competition in this segment is quite intense.
Let's explore the other choices available within this price range, beginning with Poco's internal competition. The Poco F5 5G's 256GB model, which boasts a stronger SoC, can be obtained for less than 30K. Then, there's the Poco X6 Pro 5G, also equipped with a more potent Dimensity D8300 Ultra SoC and priced well below 30K. In fact, you can get its 512GB model for just Rs 27,999. Also, don't overlook the 256GB version of the Poco X6 5G powered by a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip, which can be bought for as low as 21K. If you're looking for alternatives outside of Xiaomi, particularly for a smoother User Interface, the OnePlus Nord 3 5G is available for Rs 28,999.
The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chip in this device offers superior power, but you're only getting 128GB of storage within this price range. It's important to mention that all the Poco phones we've discussed come with a 64MP primary camera equipped with OIS. The Nord 3, on the other hand, features a 50MP unit with OIS, while the Redmi Note 3 5G boasts a 200MP main camera also with OIS. The other characteristics are more or less the same. If you're okay with sacrificing a few extra megapixels, the Poco phones provide a better deal, unless you come across the 256GB model of the Redmi Note 13 Pro for less than 25K.
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