Xiaomi 13 Pro: The Evolution of Excellence
Xiaomi 13 Pro: The Evolution of Excellence
Xiaomi is primarily recognized for its exceptional and budget-friendly smartphones, which constitute the majority of the company's sales. However, the company has long been offering appealing high-end flagship devices. While its products haven't always achieved the same level of finesse and sophistication as those of its competitors, this is beginning to change with the introduction of the Xiaomi 13 Pro. The latest Xiaomi flagship exudes a more refined aura. The Xiaomi 13 Pro boasts one of the most impressive camera systems and sensors available in the market, a premium ceramic back that enhances its build quality, and IP68 water and dust resistance. Additionally, it rivals the competition in terms of software support.
Integrating Design and User Experience
The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a premium look and feel. When you hold it for the first time, you'll immediately notice its substantial weight, coming in at 229g, making it one of the heftier smartphones in this size category. The curved ceramic back is a significant contributor to its excellent build quality, leaving a strong initial impression. However, similar to glass, the ceramic surface tends to attract fingerprints, which are particularly noticeable on the black version. The camera setup is positioned in the top left corner of the back, and it lies flat, making it easy to maintain cleanliness. This is in contrast to iPhones or recent Samsung phones, where each lens protrudes individually.
In contrast to the standard Xiaomi 13, which adopted a square shape with a flat screen, the 13 Pro maintains curves on both the front and back. For those who aren't enthusiasts of curved screens, this might be disappointing. The advantage of the curved design is that it makes the phone a bit more manageable to hold compared to having an equally large flat screen, as it keeps the screen size substantial without making the device more awkward.
The phone has a well-balanced and sturdy feel to it. The haptic feedback, which goes beyond just the physical sensation of holding the device, is exceptional. Xiaomi has probably integrated one of the best vibration motors currently available for Android phones, and they've incorporated some clever features into MIUI to showcase its capabilities fully. These features include actions like unlocking the screen, moving or deleting apps on the home screen, and specific camera functions, all accompanied by delightful and tactile haptic responses. Naturally, the phone also provides strong and easily noticeable vibrations for notifications.
Enhanced Display Quality With User Satisfaction
Moving onto technical specifications, the phone features a 120Hz OLED display with a resolution of 3200 x 1400 and a 6.73-inch screen size, providing a remarkable 522 pixels per inch. What's noteworthy is the adaptive refresh rate, which can dynamically switch between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on the content you're viewing. It also offers additional features like 1920 PWM dimming, designed to reduce discomfort for individuals sensitive to digital screens. When you're using the Xiaomi 13 Pro outdoors, it achieves impressive brightness. With a brightness rating of 1200 nits (reaching 1900 nits at its peak), it's easily usable even in direct sunlight, making it a great companion for outdoor activities.
Powerful Hardware Configuration
The Xiaomi 13 Pro not only exudes a premium appearance but also has an impressive hardware to match its looks. It is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, accompanied by a substantial 12GB of RAM and a capacious 256GB of fast UFS 4.0 storage. The device's Wi-Fi 7 modem is a standout feature, enabling multiple simultaneous connections on both 5GHz and 6GHz bands. This not only promises reduced latency but also future-proofs the phone for upcoming technologies, even though Wi-Fi 7 routers are not yet widespread.
Furthermore, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is equipped with Bluetooth 5.3 and supports dual SIM functionality. An additional convenience comes in the form of an IR blaster at the top of the phone, allowing users to control their TVs directly with their phone, bypassing the need for Wi-Fi or other smart home solutions.
A significant and much-welcomed improvement is the inclusion of water and dust resistance with an IP68 rating. This ensures the device is adequately protected from accidental spills and exposure to dust. It's worth noting that Xiaomi had been somewhat slow in embracing this feature, as the previous year's 12 series lacked an IP rating. Finally, the company has caught up with other manufacturers who have offered this level of protection for a considerable time.
Excelling In Performance and Battery Life
With respect to performance, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Xiaomi 13 Pro is undeniably a powerhouse. When compared to competitors like the Pixel 7 Pro, this phone impressively maintains lower temperatures and can handle demanding tasks for extended periods. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 stands as one of the best processors available in today's smartphone market, and the Xiaomi 13 Pro reflects this power in its swift performance.
When it comes to charging speed, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is a leader. With its 4,820mAh battery, it can be rapidly charged at 120W using Xiaomi's proprietary charger, allowing it to go from zero to 100% in under 20 minutes. In our tests, it consistently achieved this in less than 30 minutes.
To attain the advertised 20-minute charging time, you'll need to activate a setting in the battery options, although Xiaomi advises that the phone can get notably warmer than usual during this rapid charging process. If you're concerned about prolonging your phone's battery life, it's advisable to stick with regular charging most of the time, as excessive heat can accelerate battery degradation. Nevertheless, Xiaomi claims that their self-developed Surge charging chip, used in this fast-charging process, is designed to mitigate typical issues that lead to faster battery wear and tear.
Battery life on the Xiaomi 13 Pro is impressive as well. On average, the phone comfortably lasts a full day with about five to six hours of screen-on time daily. Even after a day of moderate usage, there's usually still around 20 to 30 percent of battery left as a buffer when recharging. On lighter usage days, the phone can potentially stretch to two days on a single charge. Combining this with the incredibly fast charging capabilities, you'll rarely have to worry about a dead phone, as long as you have 15 to 30 minutes available to charge it.
Xiaomi’s Software Evolution
Xiaomi is making commendable promises regarding software support for the Xiaomi 13 Pro and the Xiaomi 13, committing to providing them with three generations of Android updates and five years of security patches. This aligns well with Google's Pixel promise and is a significant step forward from just a year ago when the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro were only set to receive four years of security patches. This signifies a positive shift in the Android landscape, offering users the confidence to use their phones for an extended period without concerns about obsolescence.
MIUI 14, built upon Android 13, exhibits a more matured and refined interface that brings it closer to the look and feel of other Android skins. Users familiar with MIUI should find it comfortably familiar.
Xiaomi has introduced Material You theming for Android apps that opt to support it, adding a personal touch to your device.
While the software has improved in terms of stability, it still lags slightly behind what's seen on Pixel and Samsung phones. Notably, at low battery levels, the notification shade occasionally fails to blur the background, making it more challenging to access quick settings toggles. Additionally, the media player often uses dark text on dark backgrounds, making it difficult to identify the song you're playing on certain applications.
Xiaomi's software continues to limit the use of third-party launchers, allowing them only with button navigation. Gesture navigation is restricted to the default home screen. On a positive note, MIUI now handles background apps more effectively, reducing premature closures and ensuring messages and navigation apps remain reliable, while apps in the background need to reload less frequently. This improvement also optimizes the use of the phone's 12GB of RAM.
Exquisite Camera Capabilities
The camera system is undoubtedly the highlight of this phone. Its triple-camera setup on the back comprises a 50 MP Sony IMX989 sensor, which happens to be the largest smartphone sensor to date at 1 inch. This same sensor is also found in the Vivo X90 Pro and the Oppo Find X6 Pro.
The primary camera is accompanied by a versatile trio, including a 50 MP 75mm telephoto lens and a 50 MP wide-angle lens. All three cameras have been co-engineered with Leica and feature Leica lenses, with Xiaomi and Leica collaborating in the software department as well.
Xiaomi and Leica have jointly developed the camera app, which stands out for its spectacular speed and user-friendliness, a notable improvement over what's typically seen on other Xiaomi phones. One of the most significant enhancements is the shutter button, which consistently responds almost instantly to touch, ensuring you won't miss a fleeting photo opportunity. However, in low-light conditions, the camera may take a bit more time to capture additional light.
The camera software also offers a choice between two color profiles: Leica Authentic, which aims for true-to-life colors, and Leica Vibrant, which delivers more vivid and typical smartphone-like colors. One notable limitation is that the telephoto's "DSLR-level" focusing technology seems to struggle with raindrops on a window, making it difficult to focus on objects beyond them. This issue isn't exclusive to Xiaomi but reflects a weakness in the autofocus technique used.
For users who prefer to have more control over image processing, there's a 10-bit RAW DNG mode available, making it easier to fine-tune images in post-processing – a format commonly used by professional photographers. Additionally, the Xiaomi 13 Pro features a Pro mode, enabling manual adjustments to settings such as shutter speed, ISO, and the choice of a specific lens for a shot.
The 3.2x telephoto camera outshines, allowing for close-up telephoto macro shots – a feature only a few in the industry offer. It can focus on objects as close as 10cm (about 4 inches) from the lens, providing a unique perspective that some competitors, like the Pixel 7 Pro, cannot match.
The selfie camera also brings innovation with Dynamic Framing, which automatically adjusts the field of view when taking selfies with others, utilizing the full 32MP sensor while enabling pixel binning by default. However, the selfie camera limits zoom options, allowing you to choose between the wide-angle 0.8x preset or the standard 1x view.
Is It A Worthy Purchase?
The Xiaomi 13 Pro now proves to be a genuine flagship device that justifies its price tag. Xiaomi's historical reluctance to include standard features like IP68 water resistance and long-term software support has made recommending its flagship phones a challenge in the past. However, things have changed this year.
If you're seeking a top-tier smartphone that can compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Google Pixel 7 Pro, and comes equipped with a groundbreaking camera sensor that opens up exciting possibilities in mobile photography, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is the ideal choice. Additionally, it offers long-lasting battery life and lightning-fast charging.
With this device, Xiaomi demonstrates its readiness to compete at the highest level, leaving its typical mid-range offerings in the dust. It makes fewer compromises compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra or the Pixel 7 Pro – with the exception of some rather glaring software bugs related to the battery-saving feature, and which Xiaomi urgently needs to address.
Pricing And Availability
The Xiaomi 13 Pro made its global debut in December 2022, but as of now, it has not yet arrived in the Pakistani market. The anticipated release date for the Xiaomi 13 Pro in Pakistan is March 2023. Since it has not officially launched in Pakistan yet, there is no specific price available for the phone in the country. However, based on its international pricing, it's estimated that the Xiaomi 13 Pro may be priced around PKR 230,000 when it becomes available in Pakistan. Once it hits the Pakistani market in March 2023, interested buyers will have the opportunity to purchase it from authorized Xiaomi retailers and local merchants.