Xiaomi 13 review

MIUI 14 on top of Android 13

The Xiaomi 13 is running the company's latest MIUI 14 on top of Android 13. This new OS combo promises, among other things, major performance improvements and optimizations. This is all wrapped up in what Xiaomi calls "Project Razor". The team behind MIUI 14 updated the system architecture on the Android Kernel level with CPU, GPU and memory resource scheduling, lighter system firmware size and decreased memory usage. Apparently, the result is 60% smoother operation of MIUI 14 on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra compared to MIUI 13.

Let's quickly go over the new things we found in MIUI 14 running on our Xiaomi 13 unit. Only eight system apps cannot be uninstalled, which is a major leap from past MIUI releases. Other neat optimizations include automatic compression for apps that are not actively used and a toggle to turn off permanent notifications. These ones seem to stem from the Android 13 core rather than the MIUI shell. Privacy is also overhauled with end-to-end encryption and local on-device processing of user data.

Going over the list of expected new additions to MIUI 14 from its official release, we oddly found a lot is not yet present on out Xiaomi 13 unit. Perhaps some of the new features will be delivered later with updates. Our unit lacks the new animated character widgets, for one, but it does have the new style of enlarged folders.

Enlarged folders

We also didn't find the duplicate file merger, Xiaomi wireless accessory cross-device switching controls, or the new family account features. However, the improved text recognition and extraction from images in the gallery are present.

Text recognition from gallery

Other than these few changes, MIUI hasn't morphed in any major way, and users will feel right at home.

The split between a notification shade and Control Center is enabled by default this time, and that's probably a good thing. We found it to be quite convenient, and it's a way to educate users about MIUI's unique approach to the UI. And in case you are not a fan, you can always revert back to the standard notification shade with quick toggles in one place.

Home screen, notification shade, Control center

The home screen, recent apps and the general settings menu are business as usual. The app drawer is also enabled by default, and we like that Xiaomi has placed the search bar at the bottom of the screen for easier reach. There are custom and preset app categories for faster navigation.

Unlike the standard recent apps menu, the MIUI task switcher lists the apps vertically and provides several useful shortcuts. That's where you can open up apps in floating windows. However, you can have only one floating app open at a time. In case you want a faster shortcut to apps that support free-form windows, just enable the Sidebar.

Recent apps, app drawer

Notably, the Sidebar is different depending on the scenario. In games, the Sidebar provides a couple of gaming-related features, while in video apps, the Sidebar becomes a Video toolbox. It lets you launch video apps in pop-up windows, Screenshot, Record screen, Cast, and Play Video with the screen off, including on YouTube without a Premium subscription. The only caveat is that the apps where you want the feature enabled need to be whitelisted in advance.

Sidebar and Video toolbox

Customization is, as always, a big part of MIUI. The system lets you choose the style of the Always-on display or the theme of the UI. Aside from the ones pre-installed on the device, a theme store gives you a wide selection. The themes themselves change not only the general appearance but also ringtones and system icons.

Themes and Always-on display

Moving on to privacy and security, MIUI comes with a pre-installed system Security app. Aside from the additional malware protection layer it provides, the app holds many of the app settings and privacy features in one place. It can manage your blacklist, manage or restrict your data usage, configure battery behavior, and free up some RAM. It can also manage the permissions of your installed apps, define the battery behavior of selected apps, and apply restrictions only to certain apps.

Xiaomi Security app

Speaking of security, the fingerprint reader is fast and reliable. We had no issues even when outside on a bright sunny day. There's extended functionality for the fingerprint reader, allowing you to open up an app or initiate action as soon as you unlock the device - just keep your finger on the scanner when it unlocks. It's a lot like OnePlus' OxygenOS/Oppo's ColorOS/Realme's Realme UI feature, but this one doesn't allow customization. We didn't find a way to add shortcut apps, so you are stuck with the Search and QR Code scanner.

Fingerprint reader and shortcuts

There is also an experimental feature that lets you use the fingerprint reader to measure heart rate. It is a bit wonky, but still an interesting little addition.

Heart rate monitoring with the fingerprint reader

All in all, MIUI 14 changed a little over the 13th iteration. At least on our Xiaomi 13 unit, that is. It's just as snappy and customizable as ever. Xiaomi has paid special attention to the haptics on this unit, and we found the motor to be crisp, strong and accurate. There's even haptic feedback intensity adjustment if you find it obtrusive or not strong enough.

Synthetic benchmarks

The Xiaomi 13 packs the latest and greatest flagship chipset Qualcomm has to offer - the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It has an octa-core CPU configuration with one primary Cortex-X3 core, clocked at up to 3.2 GHz, 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715, 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 and 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510 cores. Its GPU is a very capable Adreno 740.

The Xiaomi 13 pair said chipset with up to 12GB od RAM and up to 512GB of non-expandable storage in the following configurations: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM. Though international markets allegedly just get a choice between 8/256GB and 12/256GB. It is also worth noting that the 128GB variant of the Xiaomi 13 uses older and slower UFS 3.1 storage, while the 256GB and 512GB tiers have UFS 4.0 chips.

Xiaomi claims that the new CPU brings a 37% improvement in performance and 47% in efficiency compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. And the GPU is apparently 42% more powerful and 49% more efficient.

We can see that the Xiaomi 13 manages excellent results in the CPU department through GeekBench.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• iPhone 14 Pro
  5346
• Xiaomi 13
  5129
• Samsung Galaxy S23
  4950
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
  4927
• OnePlus 11
  4899
• iPhone 14
  4761
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  4300
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  4081
• Huawei Mate 50 Pro
  3839
• Xiaomi 12T
  3756
• Poco X4 GT
  3719
• Redmi K50i
  3707
• Xiaomi 12
  3652
• Poco F4 GT
  3637
• Oppo Reno8 Pro
  3395
• Google Pixel 7
  3288
• Poco F4
  3190
• Nothing Phone (1)
  3024
• Poco X5 Pro
  2930
• Google Pixel 6a
  2876
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  2790
• Oppo Reno8
  2694
• OnePlus Nord 2T 5G
  2694
• Realme 10 Pro+
  2371
• Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  2225
• Galaxy A53 5G
  1891

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• iPhone 14 Pro
  1861
• iPhone 14
  1738
• Samsung Galaxy S23
  1550
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
  1537
• Xiaomi 13
  1492
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1324
• Huawei Mate 50 Pro
  1277
• Poco F4 GT
  1244
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  1238
• Xiaomi 12
  1187
• OnePlus 11
  1150
• Google Pixel 7
  1051
• Google Pixel 6a
  1047
• Poco F4
  975
• Xiaomi 12T
  925
• Poco X4 GT
  917
• Redmi K50i
  916
• Oppo Reno8 Pro
  894
• Realme 10 Pro+
  842
• Nothing Phone (1)
  820
• Poco X5 Pro
  781
• Galaxy A53 5G
  743
• Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  736
• Oppo Reno8
  493
• OnePlus Nord 2T 5G
  493
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  491

The same goes for the more compound testing on AnTuTu, which also includes graphical tests. The Xiaomi 13 is chart-topping and makes perfect use of the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip it is equipped with and doesn't hold it back in any way.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  1248260
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
  1241531
• Samsung Galaxy S23
  1231075
• OnePlus 11
  1140661
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1039412
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  1032185
• Xiaomi 12
  985115
• Huawei Mate 50 Pro
  979921
• iPhone 14 Pro
  968412
• Poco F4 GT
  952124
• iPhone 14
  817125
• Google Pixel 7
  813114
• Xiaomi 12T
  780204
• Poco X4 GT
  747871
• Oppo Reno8 Pro
  718351
• Google Pixel 6a
  712092
• Poco F4
  698586
• Oppo Reno8
  619610
• OnePlus Nord 2T 5G
  619610
• OnePlus Nord 2T
  604467
• Nothing Phone (1)
  592789
• Poco X5 Pro
  531398
• Realme 10 Pro+
  522376
• Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
  437872
• Galaxy A53 5G
  379313

The Adreno 740 GPU can really stretch its legs inside the Xiaomi 13 with its FullHD+ native resolution display. It expectedly tops the charts in off-screen tests as well, though.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23
  90
• Galaxy S23+
  89
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  89
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  89
• Xiaomi 13
  88
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  75
• Asus Zenfone 9
  67
• Xiaomi 12
  59
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  57
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  54
• iQOO 11
  54
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  50
• OnePlus 11
  49
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  48
• Google Pixel 6a
  47
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  43
• Poco X4 GT
  38
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  36
• Xiaomi 12X
  32
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  26
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Realme 10 Pro+
  16
• Galaxy A53 5G
  15

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  62
• iQOO 11
  62
• Xiaomi 13
  61
• Galaxy S23
  61
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  61
• OnePlus 11
  61
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  59
• Asus Zenfone 9
  46
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  45
• Xiaomi 12
  41
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  41
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  33
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  29
• Google Pixel 6a
  29
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  29
• Poco X4 GT
  26
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  26
• Xiaomi 12X
  22
• Nothing Phone (1)
  15
• Realme 10 Pro+
  11
• Galaxy A53 5G
  10

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23
  98
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  97
• Galaxy S23+
  93
• Xiaomi 13
  91
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  91
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  79
• Asus Zenfone 9
  69
• iPhone 14 Pro
  60
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  60
• Xiaomi 12
  59
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  58
• iPhone 14
  55
• iQOO 11
  55
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  55
• OnePlus 11
  53
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  47
• Google Pixel 6a
  39
• Poco X4 GT
  38
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  37
• Xiaomi 12X
  35
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  31
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  25
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Realme 10 Pro+
  15

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  69
• Galaxy S23+
  69
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  69
• iQOO 11
  69
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  68
• OnePlus 11
  68
• Galaxy S23
  65
• Asus Zenfone 9
  52
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  50
• Xiaomi 12
  45
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  45
• iPhone 14 Pro
  42
• iPhone 14
  38
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  38
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  36
• Google Pixel 6a
  32
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  30
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  26
• Xiaomi 12X
  24
• Poco X4 GT
  24
• Nothing Phone (1)
  16
• Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Realme 10 Pro+
  10

The Xiaomi 13 makes excellent use of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. We can clearly see that it is not being held back and is performing at its maximum potential here.

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23
  110
• Galaxy S23+
  110
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  110
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  110
• Xiaomi 13
  109
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  97
• Asus Zenfone 9
  89
• Xiaomi 12
  75
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  74
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  67
• iQOO 11
  67
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  66
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  65
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  63
• iPhone 14 Pro
  60
• iPhone 14
  60
• OnePlus 11
  57
• Google Pixel 6a
  51
• Xiaomi 12X
  47
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  46
• Poco X4 GT
  46
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  34
• Nothing Phone (1)
  33
• Poco X5 Pro
  28
• Realme 10 Pro+
  21
• Galaxy A53 5G
  19

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  130
• iQOO 11
  128
• Xiaomi 13
  127
• Galaxy S23
  127
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  127
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  126
• OnePlus 11
  126
• iPhone 14 Pro
  112
• Asus Zenfone 9
  104
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  100
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  96
• iPhone 14
  91
• Xiaomi 12
  84
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  79
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  75
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  70
• Google Pixel 6a
  66
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  63
• Xiaomi 12X
  55
• Poco X4 GT
  52
• Nothing Phone (1)
  37
• Realme 10 Pro+
  27
• Galaxy A53 5G
  23

As the test difficulty gets lower and lower, the Adreno 740 starts to shine and fully saturate the 120Hz display refresh rate of the Xiaomi 13 in on-screen tests. All the while posting ridiculous three-digit fps numbers in off-screen tests.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  121
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  121
• Galaxy S23
  120
• Galaxy S23+
  120
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  120
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  120
• Asus Zenfone 9
  120
• Xiaomi 12
  117
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  116
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  114
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  113
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  112
• iQOO 11
  112
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  86
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  72
• Xiaomi 12X
  70
• iPhone 14 Pro
  60
• iPhone 14
  60
• OnePlus 11
  60
• Google Pixel 6a
  60
• Nothing Phone (1)
  58
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  57
• Poco X4 GT
  54
• Realme 10 Pro+
  38
• Galaxy A53 5G
  35

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23+
  224
• Xiaomi 13
  222
• iQOO 11
  222
• OnePlus 11
  220
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  219
• Galaxy S23
  212
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  212
• iPhone 14 Pro
  196
• Asus Zenfone 9
  187
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  179
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  168
• Xiaomi 12
  164
• iPhone 14
  151
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  137
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  132
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  126
• Google Pixel 6a
  116
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  108
• Poco X4 GT
  103
• Xiaomi 12X
  89
• Nothing Phone (1)
  65
• Realme 10 Pro+
  45
• Galaxy A53 5G
  38

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13
  121
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  121
• Xiaomi 12
  121
• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  121
• Galaxy S23
  120
• Galaxy S23+
  120
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  120
• iQOO 11
  120
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  120
• Asus Zenfone 9
  120
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  120
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  119
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  117
• Xiaomi 12X
  106
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  103
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  100
• Nothing Phone (1)
  84
• Poco X4 GT
  65
• iPhone 14 Pro
  60
• iPhone 14
  60
• OnePlus 11
  60
• Google Pixel 6a
  60
• Realme 10 Pro+
  56
• Galaxy A53 5G
  55

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro
  328
• Xiaomi 13
  327
• OnePlus 11
  327
• iQOO 11
  321
• Galaxy S23
  320
• Galaxy S23+
  319
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  311
• Asus Zenfone 9
  277
• Xiaomi 12T Pro
  262
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  249
• iPhone 14 Pro
  243
• Xiaomi 12
  236
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  221
• iPhone 14
  217
• Sony Xperia 5 IV
  187
• Sony Xperia 1 IV
  186
• Google Pixel 7 Pro
  170
• Google Pixel 6a
  167
• Poco X4 GT
  146
• Xiaomi 12X
  127
• Nothing Phone (1)
  93
• Realme 10 Pro+
  68
• Galaxy A53 5G
  60

The phone is also perfectly snappy and fluent to use in practice. Animations are fluid and fast, and the Xiaomi 13 chews through each and every task you throw at it. Gaming is a joy as well, as long as you remember the refresh rate caveats and lock the refresh rate manually to 120Hz in supported games for the smoothest possible experience.

Xiaomi also paid a lot of attention to cooling the Xiaomi 13 and equipped it with a huge 4,642 mm2 vapor chamber. We ran our standard hour-long torture test on the Xiaomi 13 and found it to be able to sustain its performance very well. However, it did get really hot during the test. Definitely uncomfortable to the touch.

Thermal-throttling

The Adreno 740 GPU sustained its performance very well, too, under a prolonged stress load.