XIAOMI 13 - A top of the range with COG ** ONI cons
Among the first devices to hit the market, equipped with the new processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 we find it Xiaomi 13, a true top of the range not only in terms of technical specifications but also for performance, as well as a disarming aesthetic beauty. Let's find out together in ours Full review.
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Xiaomi 13 UNBOXING
Generally in our reviews we start by telling you about the contents of the sales package, as we will do now for Xiaomi 13, on which I underline the fact that compared to more "important" brands that place top-of-the-range products on the market with prohibitive costs to which you then have to add more money for essential accessories such as the charger, here we find everything we needThese are:
- smartphones;
- 67W power supply;
- USB cable for charging and Type-C data transfer;
- SIM eject tool;
- Plastic film to protect the display already pre-applied by the company;
- Soft silicone case;
- Manuals.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
I admit that the design that the company has reserved for this terminal may resemble what Apple has been offering us for some time on its devices, but it must also be said that the"brick" aesthetic it is not an invention of the Cupertino house. Having said that, live Xiaomi 13 is really beautiful, una pleasure for the eyes and for the hands, as on the back we find ourselves in the presence of a back cover made of glossy glass which returns a pleasant tactile sensation and poco slippery, although I have to express a small disagreement about the treatment reserved for this which does not limit the capture of fingerprints and dirt in general. But the ergonomics are excellent, characterized by a slightly curved rear surface and dimensions equal to 152,8 x 71,5 x 7,98 mm and a weight of 189 grams, which overall are well balanced along the entire axis of the phone and which in fact make Xiaomi 13 a compact top of the range, resulting in fact longer than the iPhone 14 but narrower.
To contribute to the excellent ergonomics, we find the frame made of metal flat, so much so that we can even use, for example, the completely smooth left profile as a support surface for the smartphone. On the opposite side we have the volume rocker and the power button, while on the upper profile we find 2 microphones for noise reduction in calls, il IR transmitter and a hole for the sound to escape from the ear capsule, practically invisible on the very small frames that house the display, which performs the function of second speaker, as Xiaomi 13 is equipped with stereo sound with Dolby ATMOS support and Hi-Res AUDIO certification.
The second speaker, or rather the main speaker, can be found on the lower frame accompanied by the main microphone, Type-C input that supports OTG (but no video output) and the SIM tray, which houses 2 of them in nano format but it is no memory expansion by means of micro SD. In a way a shame, considering that the smartphone it also supports e-SIM technology, so a second slot could be used just for the micro SD. Absolutely to highlight the fact that Xiaomi 13 is certified IP68, therefore resistant to water and dust.
DISPLAY
But numbers aside, when you hold Xiaomi 13 everything fades into the background especially if we begin to admire the amazing 6,36-inch flat display equipped with technology AMOLED with resolution FHD+ 2400 x 1080 pixels. Let's talk about a panel with form factor in 20:9 whose design is interrupted only by the presence of a central punch hole used as a selfie camera, DCI-P3 color gamut, HDR10+, peak brightness of 1900 nits and 120Hz refresh rate dynamic type with touch refresh rate of 240 Hz e TrueColor technology.
Pippotto aside on the technical specifications, summarizing the experience with this display is simple because one word is enough: FANTASTIC. TV series, films, documentaries, Youtube videos and everything related to multimedia (therefore also gaming) is a pleasure for the eyes when viewed on this display. To date, the Xiaomi 13 display is among the best in terms of precision, quality and color fidelity as well as visibility in all lighting conditions, even under direct sunlight.
Moreover at software level tWe find a whole series of functions that serve to optimize video playback, in relation to fluidity and HDR, temperature and color tone calibration etc .. And then the frames, as mentioned before, ultra reduced which increase the WOW effect. If you are wondering, the flagship in question integrates a physical proximity sensor, therefore problems in calls and listening to vocal notes are eliminated, but the point of value is also the 360° ambient light sensor, super responsive in adapting the brightness according to the conditions encountered.
Returning to the design of our Xiaomi 13, on the back we find a beautiful bumper camera that gives an identity to the device, also due to the LEICA writing below the 3 optics, accompanied by a dual flash. Therefore, no fingerprint sensor, since it has been inserted under the amazing display with super-fast and reliable unlocking results, but if necessary, you can also take advantage of the Face Unlock unlocking function which proved to be just as quick and precise, even in of total darkness.
AUDIO AND CONNECTION
As already mentioned, the audio for Xiaomi 13 is of the stereo type, capable of delivering outrageously loud volume without distortion, with a good body of bass and possibility to appreciate the nuances of the various musical genres. As far as connectivity is concerned, both SIMs can navigate in 5G enjoying support for the new type connection technology SA/NSA dual-mode, but with my operator and above all for the area where I live I have never been able to benefit from the real navigation potential, but I can tell you that I have never suffered from freezes or slowness in the download and upload phases.
HARDWARE AND PERFORMANCE
Under the hood we find a latest generation hardware that also gives performance to the smartphone, which makes use of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, an octacore solution with a 4 nm production process clocked at 3.19 GHz which is accompanied by the graphics operations 740 Adreno GPU. Everything is then seasoned with a 8/12 GB LPDDR5X type RAM and 256 GB of UFS 4.0 internal storage.
On purpose I have not performed benchmarks, except the most important one, i.e. exploiting the device in everyday life, stressing it with thousands of social notifications, uploading videos on Youtube, photos, internet browsing, GPS and even gaming with results above expectations and free from excessive overheating, with frame rates that are also quite important in game sessions. In short Xiaomi 13 is a fighter, a true champion in the execution of "daily" but also "off-piste" tasks. Moreover, the connection equipment is good which for the flagship also boasts the presence of WiFi 7/6E/6, Bluetooth 5.3, dual frequency GPS L1+L5 also on Galileo E1+E5a satellites and NFC for mobile payments, fully certified by Google and related services.
SOFTWARE
At the time of the review Xiaomi 13 is animated by the graphical interface MIUI 14 while the operating system is Android 13 with February 2023 security patch. Therefore I won't dwell much on the software paragraph, but I can say that overall the user experience is decidedly positive and free of any lag or uncertainty. Unfortunately, however, I must underline that although we are in the presence of a top of the range, therefore not exactly cheap, however, the company has included a series of pre-installed applications (however easily uninstallable at will) but what I really have not digested is the presence of advertising in the system apps, as well as a series of duplicates or even triplets of some apps, think that Xiaomi's is installed at the browser level, Opera and Chrome.
AUTONOMY Xiaomi 13
Despite the reduced thickness, Xiaomi Mi 13 integrates a large battery 4500 mAh which as regards the charging methods supports 2 different variants: one 67W wired type ultra-fast mode and a fast wireless charging at 50W. Ultra-short recharge times: 38 minutes for a full 100% in wired mode and 48 minutes for wireless charging. Personally, with rather intense use, I managed to take home over 6 hours of active display, guaranteeing me a working day without any effort.
An interesting value considering the fact that I took advantage of the maximum refresh rate available. Moreover, even in the field of stress such as for gaming, temperatures and consumption are kept at bay, thanks to the Xiaomi Surge dedicated chipset. Of positive mention is also the fact that the top of the range integrates the 10W reverse wireless charging, therefore you can recharge headphones, wearables and gadgets equipped with this technology simply by placing them on the back surface of the phone.
PHOTOGRAPHIC AND VIDEO PERFORMANCES
And we have come to one of the most important innovations of this top of the range branded Xiaomi, or the photographic sector, which stands out for the close collaboration with the giant of traditional photography Leica. An avant-garde photographic sector that consists of 3 different VARIO-SUMMICRON lenses.
But going further, the photo and video quality performances of Xiaomi 13 are worthy of the camera phone label, thanks to a 50 MP, f / 1.8, optically stabilized (HyperOIS) primary sensor with a focal length equivalent to 23mm and Super pixel 4 in 1 from 2 μm, which is accompanied by a 12 MP ultra wide angle with 120 ° field of view, f / 2.2, sensor size 1 / 3,06 ", pixel size 1,12 μm and focal length equivalent to 15mm. Finally, we have a 10 MP telephoto lens, f / 2.0 also equipped with OIS stabilization and a focal length equivalent to 75 mm.
As already expressed poco ago the quality is in line with the top-of-the-range competitors, but if I really have to find a fault, this lies in the fact that in the video field it is not possible to switch from one camera to another. Having said that, I can only express my praise to Xiaomi but above all to Leica, guaranteeing quality also in the management of strong contrasts and in the management of the white balance.
We have two photographic silos available, defined AUTHENTIC (the effect preserves strong contrasts) or VIBRANT (the effect enlivens the image with brightness and saturation while maintaining fidelity to the scene) and then many Leica branded filters, but above all in the portrait field (just like real professionals) we have 4 different lenses available at a virtual level: a 35mm in black and white, a 50mm with spiral bokeh, a 75mm for portraits from a distance and finally a 90mm with soft focus. We can shoot videos in Dolby Vision using the HyperOIS technology capable of stabilizing the scene in a cinematic way. In this regard, we can record at a maximum resolution of 8K at 24 fps, even if it knows better to rely on 4K 60fps. In short, Xiaomi for its 13th flagship has also focused a lot on the software, enriching it with functions dedicated to video management as if we were directors, such as the ProFocus mode for focusing on moving subjects. I would have expected something more in the night mode which can be used for all optics as well as for video capture, the rendering of which is much more realistic than the competition but not exactly without defects. The MOON mode is present but unfortunately I could not benefit from it due to the always overcast sky and the period in which the moon was not full.
All the excellent considerations also apply to the 32 MP, f/2.0 selfie camera which allows us to shoot videos at 1080p at 30 fps in HDR, offering a dynamic framing from 0,8X to 1X as well as the Teleprompter function. It's just a pity that the video resolution doesn't go further, considering that many could have exploited the potential of this smartphone also for vlogging.
Xiaomi 13 PRICE and CONCLUSIONS
Xiaomi 13 it is definitely a top of the range, devoted to multimedia with the idea of becoming a daily companion for all content creators thanks to enviable photographic and video performance. Now with a price dropped to under the euro 700 the flagship of Lei Jun's company becomes super interesting, also in consideration of the significant improvements made over the past generations, such as the presence of IP certification. At this figure, Xiaomi 13, becomes a real bargain that you shouldn't miss out on if you have a budget to invest.
