The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a flagship Android phone that takes the company’s bold design and spec-packed hardware to a new level. This time around, the company has partnered with Leica to bring the famous camera brand’s signature lens tech to its flagship.

With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, 12GB of RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, the phone delivers the kind of top-end performance that’s hard to beat. But it also suffers from a few shortcomings, especially when it comes to the selfie camera.

Display

The 6.73in display is a true flagship panel, with QHD+ resolution and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It’s also quite bright, at up to 1900 nits peak brightness.

The screen sucked in HDR content with ease, and the curved edges and excellent speakers lent a real sense of immersion. It also held up to multiple drops and remained bright enough to use outdoors on sunny days.

Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 out of the box is optimised for the screen and offers a number of extra features, including Optical Character Recognition. It’s also the first to support Always On Display, which turns off the non-necessary pixels when not in use.

Camera

The 13 Pro has a lot to offer camera enthusiasts. It’s the first smartphone in India to feature a 1-inch camera sensor, the latest Android 13-based MIUI 14 software and it continues Xiaomi’s partnership with imaging expert Leica.

It also has some of the most powerful hardware you’ll find in any phone, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, premium design with a ceramic finish and fast wired and wireless charging.

The main shooter on the back is a 50MP f/1.9 OIS-equipped sensor with a massive 1.6um pixel size, which puts it well ahead of the OnePlus 11 (opens in new tab) and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (opens in new tab), and it takes excellent photos. The telephoto lens is also larger, offering 3.2x optical zoom rather than the 2.1x on last year’s 12 Pro and, thanks to ‘floating’ optics, can be manipulated from just 10cm away.

Performance

Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is a slick-running Android flagship with great battery life. It can’t quite match the Galaxy S23 Ultra or Pixel 7 Pro in terms of a 5,000mAh battery, but it should be able to last through most day-long sessions thanks to its improved power efficiency and smaller footprint.

The 6.73-inch ‘AdaptiveSync Pro’ display offers a Delta-E score of 0.21 and a maximum brightness of 1,287 nits, which means it’s capable of competing with the likes of the iPhone 14 Pro Max or Pixel 7 Pro. It also supports a range of HDR standards and SGS Eye Care certification, which is designed to reduce eye fatigue.

Battery

If you’re looking for a smartphone with a battery that can last through a day of use, the Xiaomi 13 Pro has what it takes. It’s not the most powerful flagship on offer, but it does last a very long time on a single charge and can easily be plugged in to charge overnight without fear of draining it too quickly.

The phone is built to a high standard, too. Its glass back and ceramic-backed body make it look more like the iPhone 14 than some other Android phones, and it’s IP68 rated to protect against water and dust.

It’s also one of the best-charging smartphones I’ve used, with a 120W ‘HyperCharge’ fast wired charger that refilled my 4,820mAh battery in less than 20 minutes. In addition, it has rapid 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging – both of which are better than anything I’ve seen on Samsung or Google phones.

Design

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a premium-looking smartphone that feels good in the hand. Its 6.73-inch screen is on par with the best Android devices, and its build quality is sturdily built and backed by an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

It’s also a great performer. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage all deliver top-notch performance, with the IPS display performing well in our testing as well.

What makes the Xiaomi 13 Pro special is the Leica-tuned camera, which combines a huge 1 inch Sony IMX989 sensor with three lenses — wide, ultrawide and telephoto. It’s the first Xiaomi phone to launch globally with this bespoke camera setup, which also comes with two shooting styles — Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant.https://www.youtube.com/embed/fFsOE1zDLDI