Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G review

Design, build quality, handling

While the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G and the Poco X6 Pro 5G look different, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G and the Poco M6 Pro 4G are simple copy-paste jobs. We guess affordable phones don't get the same unique design treatment as the more "premium" ones.

And while this started as something like a critique, it will end on a somewhat positive note - the design is still as fresh and likable as it was on the Poco M6 Pro 4G.

So, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is a smartphone of a solid build with flat panels. There is a Gorilla Glass 5 sheet at the front that keeps the screen safe and a matte plastic panel on the back. Or it could be glass. We are not sure, but Xiaomi hasn't listed the material publicly. The plastic frame is also flat, with matching color and texture to the rear side.

Speaking of the back panel, it is quite eye-catching with three stripes - two small ones acting as camera delimiters and a large distraction-free one near the bottom. Those stripes are painted with different nuances of the same Forest Green color on our review unit. The phone can also be had in Midnight Black and Lavender Purple.

There is no actual camera island that sticks out of the back. Instead, each camera and the LED ring are jutting out of the back individually. This makes for a cleaner look, one we like better than the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5 G's.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is IP54-rated for dust and splash resistance, just like the 5G model. It should live to tell the tale after usually heavy rain or even an accidental dip in fresh water.

The 6.67-inch OLED may not be as premium as the one on the 5G version, but it still looks great, colorful and bright, with one really small punch hole for the 16MP selfie camera and impressively thin bezels across all sides.

Above the screen is the earpiece, which also serves as a stereo speaker. The ambient light sensor is hidden next to it. There is no real proximity sensor on the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G. You have to rely on the so-called virtual one, which works okay most of the time.

The sweet green back is quite likable. It has the 200MP primary camera and the 2MP macro shooter in the first stripe. Then we have the 8MP ultrawide cam and the LED flash occupying the second stripe. Here, you can also spot the Redmi logo replacing the Poco one. We cannot but appreciate the symmetry of all of the elements here.

The left side of the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G has a hybrid dual-SIM slot - you can put a microSD or a second nano-SIM on the second bed.

The volume and the power/lock keys are on the right.

The top houses the IR blaster, the 3.5mm jack, one microphone and another outlet for the top speaker.

The bottom accommodates the USB-C port, the primary microphone, and the second speaker.

There is an in-display fingerprint reader that is both snappy and reliable.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G measures 161.1 x 75.0 x 8.0 mm and weighs 188 gramss - this is identical to the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G and shorter and lighter than the Redmi Note 12 Pro 4G, which had larger bezels.

Overall, we liked the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G for its design, flat shape, and matte surface. It is not the grippiest phone, but it is not incredibly slippery either. It is reasonably sized, and the ultra-thin screen bezels make it look more premium than it is.

Connectivity

As its name suggests, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is a LTE/4G-only device. While it lacks 5G, it has simultaneous LTE connectivity on both SIM slots. As already mentioned, there is expandable storage on the phone via a microSD card slot, but it is a hybrid slot that is shared with the second nano SIM slot, so you have to choose between the two.

In terms of local connectivity, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G has dual-band Wi-Fi 5/ac and Bluetooth 5.2 with LE support. For location provisioning, we have GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO and BDS support. The phone has an IR blaster, which is pretty neat. Also, NFC, though it might be market-dependent, so check with your local vendor. There is an FM radio receiver on board as well.

The Type-C port on the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is nothing special. Well, perhaps aside from the speedy 67W proprietary charging that it supports. It also has USB Host/OTG support. Other than that, there is nothing really fancy like video output. You just get a standard USB 2.0 data connection, which means a theoretical maximum data transfer rate of 480 Mbps.

As already mentioned, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G lacks a proper hardware proximity sensor and relies on a virtual one instead. It works okay most of the time but is far from the real thing. You do still get an lsm6dso accelerometer and gyroscope combo, a tsl2522 light sensor and an mmc5603 magnetometer. There is no barometer on board.