Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 13 series early last month and the whole lineup got significant upgrades over their predecessors including the Redmi Note 13 Pro. Read our review here.
The Note 13 Pro now has a new 200MP setup which is an upgrade over the 50MP from the 12 Pro. The primary camera supports OIS.
The triple setup also has an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro. The rear cameras support video recording up to 1080p 60fps.
For selfies, the Redmi Note 13 Pro has a 16MP front-facing camera housed in the punch-hole cutout. It also records video up to 1080p 60fps.
We got to try out all the cameras and here’s why we think it’s the perfect camera smartphone for content creators on a budget.
The phone comes with various modes to play around including Documents, 200MP, Video, Photo(0.6x wide, 2X and 4x digital zoom), Portrait, Night and More options that opens Pro, Panorama, Short Film, Time Lapse, and Long Exposure.
The phone takes excellent shots during the day. You are sure to get stunning photos out of the Note 13 Pro including portraits – the saturation is close to real life so photos appear flat and you’ll ned to edit some to add a flair of pop before sharing on social media.
The selfie portraits are also quit good for sharing on Stories.
The phone is still dependable even when the sun sets thanks to its night mode that lets take shots in lowlit scenarios.
Here are some samples:
Selfies
Normal Shots
Night shots
With video, you can switch between 1080p 30fps and 60fps for both main and rear. The videos are surprisingly good even in low light. I got to take a few videos this weekend during the screening of the Eras Tour Extended version and I was able to record videos of my friends singing along to Tyalor’s song despite being in a dimly lit cinema room and I was very much impressed.
It is sad we don’t get 4K recording here but the 1080p resolution video looks really good for posting on Instagram stories.
The Redmi Note 13 video also comes with neat video editing tools that let you add preset filters(Movie, Film, Portrait, Food,), and enhancing tools to adjust exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, and vibrance. You can also add captions, and soundtracks and even change the aspect ratio.
The Pro video mode lets you play around with these features by featuring layers to the video where you can add text and music.
All these features let you capture your content and make impressive creations right from the phone.
Besides the more than capable cameras, the phone comes packed with great features that make it worth considering.
DESIGN
Redmi Note 13 Pro has a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen that has 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1800 nits brightness which means you can use the phone when outdoors capturing content or simply keeping up with social media or browsing the web.
This is a terrific screen with excellent colours and I enjoyed streaming movies and videos on the phone. Consuming multimedia content gets even better as the phone has dual stereo speakers that support Dolby Atmos located at the bottom and the top and they sound really good.
The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 that’s more scratch resistant and the phone is IP54 rated for dust and splash resistance. You get a rubber case in the box and the phone has a pre-applied screen protector so your phone will be okay even after accidental falls and water splashes.
There are a ton of ports on the Note 13 Pro including a headphone jack at the top beside the speaker grille, secondary microphone and IR blaster. The two microphones not only help during calls but also when recording video so you’ll have great sound to go along with the videos.
On the bottom is the type-c port, primary microphone and speakers. The left side has the hybrid SIM card slot while the right side has the volume rockers and the power button.
The phone comes with an in-display fingerprint reader instead of the usual side-mounted reader which most people will love. It’s a quick and easily accessible way to unlock your phone.
I loved the overall design, with the phone coming in lighter than its predecessor. The bright screen and incredibly sounding speakers are perfect for people who like watching movies and listening to music or podcasts.
Colour options include Arctic White, Midnight Black, Ocean Teal and Aurira Purple(Coral Purple).
PERFORMANCE
Redmi Note 13 Pro has a Mediatek Helio G99 Ultra processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. You also get 4GB of Virtual RAM. You can opt for the version with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage as well. The phone comes with Android 13 and MIU 14.
It will get three years of major Android updates.
The Helio chipset is relatively faster than the Snapdragon processor from its predecessor. This also translates to real-world performance. The Redmi Note 13 Pro is outstanding in daily use and I didn’t experience any issues with its performance – it handled multitasking and playing games without breaking a sweat.
BATTERY
The Redmi Note 13 Pro has a 5000mAh battery. Battery life with the phone was outstanding as with light use, I could push two days and with heavy use, I was getting on average 8 hours of screen-on time. You’ll not have battery anxiety on the device.
The phone has a 67W charger that juices up the phone. A 15-minute charge will get the phone from empty to 50% and a full charge in 46 minutes.
VERDICT
Xiaomi is making a statement with the new Redmi NOTE 13 Pro. It has an improved design, a significantly brighter AMOLED screen that’s a delight to use, stellar performance, incredible cameras, standout battery life, and ultra-fast charging. All these features make the phone hold up well against rival midrange smartphones and you should consider checking it out.
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PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The Redmi Note 13 Pro is available at official Xiaomi stores, partner retail stores, Jumia, Ropem and Kilimall. Pricing starts from Ksh 41,999(8GB RAM + 256GB storage).
Xiaomi is also offering 25 months warranty and 6 months screen warranty.
