Weekly poll: is the Xiaomi 13 Pro your next flagship? What about the vanilla Xiaomi 13?

2022-12-18

Xiaomi unveiled its new flagship series last Sunday and sales started this Wednesday – this is only the second mainstream phone to use the 1” Sony IMX989 sensor after the vivo X90 Pro+ from earlier. Before that it was featured on the China-only Xiaomi 12S Ultra and the Sharp Aquos R6, which is similarly limited in availability.

The 13-series also brings an official IP rating for the first time, IP68, of course, as is befitting a flagship. There is no “lite” model this time, it’s just the vanilla and the Pro. While we’re still waiting on Xiaomi to detail international availability, let’s take vote on these two.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is clearly king of the hill with a much improved camera setup. The 50MP main camera is effectively the same as on the 12S Ultra, which was one of the best camera phones that we have tested this year.

The 13 Pro also updates the telephoto camera with a longer lens (75mm, up from 48mm), the ultra wide and selfie cameras are the same. The 6.73” QHD LTPO 120Hz display is effectively the same too, though Xiaomi boosted the maximum brightness to 1,200nits (up to 1,900nits for HDR videos).

The other big upgrade in this generation is, of course, the chipset – a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with faster LPDDR5X RAM (8/12GB) and UFS 4.0 storage (128/256/512GB). Xiaomi managed to squeeze in a bit extra battery capacity (4,820mAh, up from 4,600mAh) and used the Surge G1 chip to enable 120W wired and 50W wireless charging. The extra capacity is nice since the 12 Pro didn’t have the best battery life.

An 8/128GB Xiaomi 13 Pro will run you CNY 5,000 in China, which converts to $720/€675/?59,000. For comparison, the 12 Pro launched at CNY 4,700 for the same memory capacity and CNY 5,000 for an 8/256GB unit. The 8/256GB phone was priced $1,000 when it rolled out globally, so you can expect the 13 Pro to cost around the same.

Let’s scout the competition. The vivo X90 Pro+ also uses the 1” IMX989 sensor, it has a longer 90mm tele lens with a 64MP sensor, a second tele lens for portraits (50MP, 50mm) and a 48MP ultrawide module, all three developed alongside Zeiss. The 6.78” LTPO 120Hz display is similar, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is the same, the 4,700mAh battery with 80W wired and 50W wireless charging holds is own too. The X90 Pro+ costs more than the Xiaomi as it starts at CNY 6,500 for a 12/256GB unit (this is the lowest configuration available).

The iQOO 11 Pro has a more basic camera setup – 50MP 1/1.49” main, 13MP 2x tele and 50MP 150° ultrawide – but it features a faster 144Hz 6.78” QHD+ display (LTPO panel) and even faster 200W wired (and 50W wireless) charging. It is powered by the 8 Gen 2 as well. This phone matches the Xiaomi pricing at CNY 5,000, but this is with extra storage, 256GB.

Well, if you are in the market for a flagship, will you consider the Xiaomi 13 Pro? Vote below or using this page.

The vanilla Xiaomi 13 one-ups its predecessor with a telephoto camera – it has the same 75mm focal length as on the Pro, however, it only features a smaller 10MP sensor. The ultrawide module is downgraded as well, down to 12MP.

It would have been really cool if the vanilla model also packed a 1” sensor, but that is not the case. Instead we get a mild upgrade over what the 12 offered with a 50MP 1/1.49” sensor, OIS and a slightly brighter f/1.8 aperture.

The Xiaomi 13 stands out with its size – it measures 152.8 x 71.5 x 8.0mm, the smallest of any Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phone so far. It has a 6.36” display, making it a tad bigger than its predecessor (which was narrower too, 69.9mm).

The base price for the Xiaomi 13 (8/128GB) is CNY 4,000 ($575/€540/?47,500). Its predecessor was CNY 3,700 at launch, again CNY 300 cheaper. When it arrived no the international scene, the 8/128GB model was $750.

The iQOO 11 is just as huge as the Pro with the same 144Hz 6.78” LTPO display and it has the same chipset. The main differences are the ultrawide camera (down to an 8MP shooter) and the battery (5,000mAh, 120W wired, no wireless charging). It is a bit cheaper too at CNY 3,800 for the base 8/128GB model. This one starts at CNY 3,800, undercutting the vanilla Xiaomi 12 pricing.

The vivo X90 is another huge option with a 6.78” display (1220p class resolution, 120Hz refresh rate). The camera setup is similar to the iQOO with a 50MP main sensor (1/1.49”), 12MP 2x tele and 12MP ultrawide. Charging the 4,810mAh battery is down at 120W over a wire (there is no wireless option). This one is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9200 instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 like the others. The X90 is the cheapest option here with a CNY 3,700 price tag.

If you are looking to get a new flagship phone, will it be the Xiaomi 13? Vote below or using this page.