Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G review

Competition

This year's Redmi Note 13 series gets a sizeable upgrade without asking more than last year's Redmi Notes. The Redmi Note 13 Pro offers a few key upgrades over its predecessor in almost all aspects. The newer Note 13 Pro gets a measurable chipset upgrade, a better display with slimmer bezels, a slightly bigger battery, a huge camera upgrade, more RAM, and an under-display fingerprint reader.

Okay, but what about competitors? Well, the Redmi Note 13 series has the advantage of launching early in the year, so we have mostly 2023 devices to compare the new Redmi Note with. Still, we believe that Xiaomi has set up the Redmi Note 13 series for success this year, no matter what the future holds. And here's why.

Let's start with the most obvious, in-house alternative, the Poco X6. It's a near-identical smartphone except for the main camera. While the Poco X6 disappoints with its camera performance, it's also the much cheaper option, hovering around the €300 mark, and has more base storage (256GB). So, if you are looking for a similar Redmi Note 13 Pro experience for even less, the Poco X6 will meet your needs. Still, we would prefer the Redmi as its camera prowess is truly impressive for its price bracket. Looking strictly at the main camera, though.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G • Xiaomi Poco X6

The Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G is another valid option but pales in comparison. The display is not the same, and the SoC is not up to the snuff, even though it sells for about €50 less.

Samsung Galaxy A54 • Motorola Edge 40 Neo

Looking over at the Samsung camp, the Galaxy A54 instantly pops up as a solid alternative, albeit last year's release. If you are not in a hurry, you might want to wait a while longer for the Galaxy A55. If not, the A54 would still fare well in 2024, especially if you are a fan of One UI. Nevertheless, we would have to give this one to the Redmi Note 13 Pro again. It's objectively a better phone - better main camera, faster charging, nicer display, has twice the RAM and runs on a more recent and powerful SoC. On the other hand, the Galaxy A54 surprises with a slightly longer battery life, a microSD slot, a usable ultrawide camera, and IP67 ingress protection.

Last but not least, Motorola's Edge 40 Neo might spark your interest with a potent Dimensity 7030 SoC, nicer ultrawide camera, fast charging and flagship-grade IP68 certification against water and dust. But The Note 13 Pro is better in all key areas like performance, display and camera quality. For many of you, it may boil down to software preference - get the Motorola for the clean Android experience or get the Redmi for the heavily customizable MIUI, soon-to-be HyperOS. Probably.

Verdict

As we already said, the Redmi Note 13 Pro offers a substantial upgrade over its predecessor without asking more for the upgrade. It's a solid all-rounder, leaving very little to complain about. The display is superb, the performance is good, the main camera is unrivaled, and the fast charging solution is competitive as well as battery life. We would still like to see a better ultrawide camera, though, and a hardware proximity sensor.

Does the phone get our approval? It sure does, but if you are not in a hurry, you may want to hold off a little longer and see if the competition has something better for you in the upcoming few months. Even so, we believe that the Redmi Note 13 Pro will remain competitive throughout 2024 as it's an excellent piece of hardware, especially when the price is expected to go down.

Pros

• IP54-rated no-nonsense design, nice colors.
• Bright OLED with razor-thin bezels, 120Hz, Dolby Vision.
• Good speakers.
• Competitive fast charging solution.
• Adequate performance, little to no throttling.
• Excellent main camera performance.

Cons

• No microSD card slot.
• Virtual proximity sensor.
• Unimpressive ultrawide and selfie cameras.
• Battery life could be better.