Redmi Note 13 Pro series review: Affordable Android phones
Sub-$400 doesn't always have to mean just acceptable photography and the new Redmi Note 13 Pro devices show you can save lots of money and be perfectly happy.
Hyperdrive Hits
4/5 Medals of Yavin: Highly recommended for people who want an affordable phone, but demand something capable of capturing great photos
Cool colors, solid construction, host of features
Gorgeous, large AMOLED displays
Lots of bloatware, mostly removable
Samsung and Apple are first and second in the worldwide smartphone market with Apple besting Samsung in the last quarter when the company releases its next generation device. The company that has been well established in third place is Xiaomi and its strategy is a dual smartphone one with the flagship Xiaomi series and the affordable Redmi series.
Xiaomi phones are made in China and that is one of its largest markets for sales. The Redmi series is also sold through Amazon in the US and the unlocked phones work well with T-Mobile, AT&T, and other MVNO providers in this country.
For the past few weeks I have been testing out the new Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G and the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G. Despite the word Note in the name of these two phones, neither support a stylus. The Redmi brand is the more affordable series in the Xiaomi lineup and there are a few specifications where compromises are made to bring down the price. I’ve been impressed with the phones and it seems the right compromises were made in order to offer them at much lower prices than their flagship cousins.
Rating:
As explained in my palmsolo’s Refresh Rating Scale post, I’m awarding the Redmi Note 13 Pro series four (4) Medals of Yavin. The prices are great, the phone design and build punch higher than the low prices, the displays are gorgeous, and the battery gets you through a full busy day and into the next. The UI is a bit much and there is too many extra apps, games, and utilities installed out of the box.
The Good and the Bad
It’s pretty rare for me to not find something that can be improved with a product so here is my summary of the phone.
Pros
Stunning build quality, fit, and finish
Affordable prices
Gorgeous displays with minimal bezels
Ample RAM and storage
Fast wired charging support with chargers in the box
Very good camera hardware
Cons
Too many extra apps, utilities, and games installed as bloatware
Walk Around the Hardware
I tend to focus on flagship phones for my own use and am fairly partial to foldable phones. My primary daily driver is an iPhone 15 Pro Max and my primary review SIM is usually found in the OnePlus Open. I put my review SIM card into these two phones for a couple of weeks to use them as a consumer in the United States.
While these two new Redmi phones have very similar names and some common design elements, there also some key design differences that make them easy to differentiate. Both phones have plastic frames, but these are dense plastic that appear to be aluminum with a matte finish and attractive design elements.
An IR transmitter is located at the top of each phone with an associated remote control app installed for your use. NFC is also present on both phones so that you can use Google Pay. There are no buttons on the left side while the bottom has the SIM card slot, USB-C port, and bottom firing speaker.
Both phones have the same triple camera system that includes a 200 MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, and 2 MP macro camera. A 16MP front-facing camera is also provided at the center above the display.
The same size 6.67-inch 2712 x 1220 resolution AMOLED display, supporting a refresh rate up to 120 Hz, and made of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus are found on both phones. The one on the Note 13 Pro is flat while the 13 Pro+ phone has a display that is curved around each side.
The back panels are also constructed of glass, but the specifications do not state what material this element is made of.
Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G
One primary difference that makes the 13 Pro a bit more affordable than the 13 Pro+ is the use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor with LPDDR4X and UFS 2.2 storage. I tested a model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, but there is also a 12GB/512GB variant available.
The 13 Pro has a 5,100 mAh battery with a 67W turbo charger in the box. While both phones have dual speakers and support for Dolby Atmos, the 13 Pro also has a standard 3.5mm audio port on the top edge so if you like using wired headphones then this phone is a better option for you.
Standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi is supported while the wireless Bluetooth radio in the 13 Pro is based on Bluetooth 5.2. The phone is also certified to an IP54 dust and water resistant level.
The phone has flat plastic sides and rounded corners with the flat display so it is easy to hold and rest safely on a surface. It is available in three colors and I had the chance to try out the Ocean Teal color.
Redmi Note 13 Pro+
The first thing I noticed about the 13 Pro+ was the curved edges of the front glass panel. These curved panels look great, are nice to hold, and are usually reserved for flagship models, but screen protectors are a bit tougher to find and this type of display is a bit more susceptible to drop damage.
The Note 13 Pro+ has higher internal specs with a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Ultra processor, LPDDR5 Ram, UFS3.1 ROM, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. A 120W charger is also included in the box.
For this model, Xiaomi sent along the 12GB/512GB model to test out and as expected I did not experience any lag or performance issues.
A dust/water resistant rating of IP68 is provided so you can use the phone in just about any environment without concern.
Software
Both devices are currently running Android 13 with the MIUI 14 interface running on top. The older October 2023 Android security update is also installed.
Unfortunately, looking at the app launcher on these Redmi Note 13 Pro phones takes me back a few years as there are several third party apps installed out of the box. We find music apps, store apps, utilities, and games. I guess a trade off for paying less is that more bloatware is installed. You can uninstall most of these apps, but that still take a bit of time.
The settings area of the user interface is organized in a unique manner compared to the standard Android interface, but it is comprehensive and provides full access to customize the phone to your preferences.
Tons of home screen widgets and layout settings are also available. In typical Android fashion, you can personalize the phones for you and your optimal usage.
Along with the 200MP camera hardware and other cameras, the Redmi Note 13 Pro devices include advanced camera software with a plethora of shooting modes. These include 200MP with pixel-binning, video, photo, portrait, long exposure (moving crowd, neon trails, oil painting, light painting, starry sky, star trails), night, panorama, documents, short film, slow motion, time-lapse, and pro/manual. With solid camera hardware and this software, your ability to get creative and spend a lot of time shooting with this phone is readily available.
Specifications
Specifications alone don’t mean much, but they are useful for comparing similar devices and checking that you are getting value for your money.
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s (Note 13 Pro) or MediaTek Dimension 7200 Ultra (Note 13 Pro+)
Display: 6.67-inch, 2712 x 1120 pixels, Up to 120Hz refresh rate
Operating system: Android 13 with MIUI 14
RAM: 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X (Note 13 Pro) or 8GB/12GB LPDDR5(Note 13 Pro+)
Internal storage: 256GB/512GB UFS 2.2 (Note 13 Pro) or 256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 (Note 13 Pro+)
Cameras: 200MP main with f/1.65, OIS, and 16-in-1 binning, 8MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 2MP macro f/2.4 and 16MP selfie camera
Battery: 5100 mAh with 67W wired charger (Note 13 Pro) or 5000 mAh with 120W wired charger (Note 13 Pro+)
Note 13 Pro Dimensions: 161.15 x 74.24 x 7.98 mm and 187 grams
Note 13 Pro Colors: Midnight Black, Ocean Teal, and Aurora Purple
Note 13 Pro+ Dimensions: 161.4 x 74.2 x 8.9 mm and 199 grams
Note 13 Pro+ Colors: Midnight Black, Moonlight White, and Aurora Purple
Bottom Line
US wireless carriers tend to focus on selling customers high end flagship phones that are paid for over a monthly payment schedule. There are solid unlocked phones that are available from retail outlets like Amazon and Xiaomi makes some of the best options. If you are looking for solid affordable phones with excellent camera hardware support then you may want to explore these two Redmi Note 13 Pro models.
We often see affordable phones provide reasonable experiences with the biggest compromises made in the way of camera results. Xiaomi focused on the camera with these two phones and the resulting images show it has done well with phones that are half the price of flagships.
Both phones also support 5G on GSM carriers and I have enjoyed fast downloads and uploads with T-Mobile. The large displays perform well and are wonderful for watching video content on the go.
I checked out both of these phones with no idea what the final price was going to be, so imagine my surprise when the press release was posted and I found out that the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G has a MSRP of just $400 and the Note 13 Pro 5G a MSRP of $304. These are awesome prices for very capable phones and are perfect for first time buyers or consumers looking for affordable phones that help take excellent photos and are built to perform.