Verdict
Xiaomi has hue its flagship Redmi phone with a welcome Elvis of class , with an improved design and an even beneficial display . Rapid charging and a impregnable main camera make a welcome rejoinder , but so does the company ’s sub - optimal software .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Even Xiaomi ’s budget sub - sword has its flagship model , and in 2024 that model is the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus .
For £ 449 it proffer a enceinte , vibrant presentation , decent operation , extremely truehearted 120W wired charging , and a pixel - packed 200MP main television camera .
Of course , all of that was dependable of last year ’s model , theRedmi Note 12 Pro Plus . Thankfully , there have been some noteworthy improvements this time around , though perhaps not to the one area that demand it most .
With rival effort like theSamsung Galaxy A55 5Gand thePixel 7aoffering their own compelling takes on the swish mid - ranger , has Xiaomi done enough ?
Design
We find out the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus design to be a little boring , so it ’s prissy to see Xiaomi change thing up for the Note 13 Pro Plus .
It remains somewhat generic , but it ’s a slightly classier brand of familiar . Most manifestly , the new phone espouse a double slew display in place of its predecessor ’s flat screen .
I always have suspicion about such curved displays , but we ’ll hash out that in a bit . For now , there ’s no deny that the Note 13 Pro Plus looking and feels classier than ever .
With a likewise curvaceous back covered in glass ( other regions also get an eco - leather selection ) , it sits nicely in the deal . The frame remains plastic , rather than switching to metal , but of course there ’s quite a bit less of it than before owing to the concealment curvature .
Not that the twist itself is any belittled . It ’s still quite a low-set matter at 8.9 mm thick , while a exercising weight of 204 thousand is only slightly lighter than before . Its step , too , is fractionally cut to 161.4 x 74.2 mm .
Xiaomi has done some elusive work with the tush of the headphone , splitting the slightly opaque finish off around the camera module and switching to a more reflective and section alternative . It ’s still not going to turn any head , but it appear pretty in force .
It ’s encouraging to see that the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5 G has taken a footfall onward in flesh quality to match that design revamp . There ’s a more sugar - resistant Gorilla Glass Victus around front now ( up from Gorilla Glass 5 ) , while the phone has also gained IP68 certification . That means it ’s as water and dust insubordinate as a flagship phone .
One slim negative , depending on your level of adhesiveness to old audio standard , is the skip of a 3.5 mm headphone jack with this year ’s manakin . I sense I ’m complain on behalf of an ever - dwindle minority when I observe such a thing – it does n’t affect me in the slight – but it ’s a slight negative nonetheless .
You do still get Xiaomi ’s customary IR chargeman on the top border though , which let you control your Hi - Fi or tv set with the preinstalled Mi Remote app .
In terms of color options , our model comes in Moonlight White , but there are also Aurora Purple and Midnight Black options .
Screen
After play it safe with last year ’s model Xiaomi has stepped up its display game with the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G.
It ’s still a 6.67 - in AMOLED , and a brilliantly vibrant , colour - exact ( in the Standard colour scheme at least ) one at that . But Xiaomi has stepped up the resolution this time around , with a 1.5 K ( 1220 x 2712 ) adding a crisper edge than the common FHD+ specification .
It can hit 1800 nits in peak conditions , which have in mind that it does its bluff oeuvre in HDR scenario , and there ’s full HDR10 + and Dolby Vision supporting . It ’s one of the verybest mid - range phoneson which to watch high - lineament video recording capacity .
While it ’s not a raw characteristic , you also get 1920Hz PWM dimming , which helps reduce optic strain at low brightnesses .
One maturation that I ’m not so keen on from anything but an aesthetic perspective has already been mentioned . The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus now has a twofold - curved display rather than a savorless one .
This search impudent , but has all the usual drawbacks , include the odd mistaken input from your entertain hand , as well as full - screen landscape videos that are never perfectly orthogonal . In recitation , neither issue is quite as defective here as it is on other rounded phone , as the curvature is n’t ace - pronounced , and there ’s still plenty of soma to grip onto .
Performance
There ’s a new chip being used with the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus in the shape of a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 - Ultra . From what I can gather , it ’s essentially the same Saratoga chip as the Dimensity 7200 Pro used in theNothing Phone ( 2a ) , which is a middling nice performing artist .
The Redmi is around £ 100 more expensive than that phone , but you do get 12 GB of RAM as standard with the sole UK model . It ’s sufficient to melt everything smoothly , even with that increment in display pixels . you may include game in that too , though you ’ll likely want to crest the in writing options at medium for more advanced 3D title .
Benchmark score put the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5 G well below the Samsung Galaxy A55 5 G in CPU multi - core performance , and about even on the GPU side . Again , the latter is notable collapse that the Redmi ’s processor is having to forge overtime to push those extra pixels around .
The Pixel 7a gives it a good hiding on both counts with its flagship(ish ) chip for standardised money ( or even less , now that the Pixel 8a is upon us ) as does Xiaomi ’s ownPoco X6 Prowith its more advanced MediaTek Dimensity 8300 - Ultra . The latter goes all out for gaming performance on a budget , of course , and as such seduce its concessions elsewhere .
As I found with the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) , this is a chip that runs decent and cool under load , think of it does n’t strangle back after a few minutes of running straight out .
You also get a very generous 512 GB of storage as received with the Redmi . While a plenty of storage is always nice , however , I ca n’t help wishing that Xiaomi had made the lower capacity option ( which still gives you a healthy 256 GB ) available in the UK for a monetary value closer to £ 400 .
Camera
We ’ve built up quite a sensation of impulse up to this point , with tweaks and melioration across the plank , but Xiaomi has hold fast with the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus ’s camera system . It seems to be exactly the same as before .
Given how impressed we were with the 200MP chief sensing element , that ’s graspable . This large 1/1.4″ sensor , backed by OIS and a 7P genus Lens seize sharp , vibrant 12.5MP shots without too much oversharpening . It seems Xiaomi has laid on an improved focalize system this metre around .
I took a number of shots side by side with the Samsung Galaxy A55 5 G , and mostly plant the Redmi to take the cleaner , more detailed shots .
Night shot were also preferable on the Redmi , as it keep back more of the natural darkness and shadow without Samsung ’s overbrightening , yet it still managed to retain a certain level of bite and lucidness .
The main sensor also did better when zoom along in , specially beyond 2x . With no dedicated telephoto camera , all of the information is pulled from that independent sensor and cropped in , and the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus still remained pretty comme il faut at 4x .
alas , Xiaomi has also stick with the same underwhelming 8MP ultra - broad photographic camera as before . While it line up itself lacking in contingent and dynamical mountain range , it does make a decent effort to assert a like colour tone to the principal sensor .
There ’s also a 2MP macro instruction photographic camera , which is just as much of a waste of space here as it is in any other phone that chooses to engage such a affair .
The 16MP selfie camera is n’t too groovy either , and is one area where it falls well behind the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G. Subject point is short , cutis tones are smudgey , and the camera seems completely incompetent of handle with extremum of visible light and apparition . It also continues to use a ‘ Beautify ’ gist as standard , which is an abomination .
TV capture peaks at 4K/30fps , or 1080p at up to 120fps – though you ’ll demand to dig through the preferences menu for the dumb motion mode to achieve the latter .
Software
Though it technically ships with Android 13 and MIUI , the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus has already receive its update to Xiaomi ’s unexampled HyperOS UI , layered on top of Android 14 . That ’s the atomic number 76 I used throughout my time with the earpiece .
It might have a different name to MIUI , but HyperOS bring across all the annoyances from that too engaged Android skin . Any difference are for the most part cosmetic and pretty minor , such as a slightly reconfigured quick - options shade or a subtly different Camera UI .
This remain a littered and overelaborate UI with too many toggles and distraction , including needlessly freestanding presentment and quick preferences menus , as well as an all - round unappealing aesthetic – though I value that others find it more visually sympathetic . It bunk swimmingly enough , but it just lacks a sure sense of class and restraint , specially when you utilise it alongside the Pixel 7a .
The sound also suffers from the eternal blight of bloatware . There are three WWW browser app , a booklet full of dick , a duet of convenience , and at least 10 preinstalled third - party apps . And yes , one of those is Booking.com .
As with MIUI before it , HyperOS is extremely customisable and tweakable , and on a fundamental spirit level it lets you get thing done smoothly enough . But it just smacks of an user interface that has been fussed with for the sake of it .
Three year of Android updates and four year of security patches is solid , but falls scant of the Samsung Galaxy A55 5 chiliad by a year in both cases .
Battery life
The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5 G barrage fire and blame set - up stay unaltered from last year ’s model , and I ’m largely o.k. with that . Few manufacturer are propose anything larger than the 5,000mAh cell installed here .
I consistently found the telephone set to be up to of getting through a full day of light usage with around 50 % leave in the tank , which means it could well last you through a full two - day misstep without approach to a great power socket . A day of intensive usage should be come-at-able too .
It ’s not alone in this level of performance , true , with the Samsung Galaxy A55 5 G and the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) laying on standardized feats of stamina .
In media usage , an hour of Disney+ streaming sapped 8 % of a battery charger , while 30 min of clear play wipe out through 7 % .
Where the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus really excels is with its support for 120W charge . Not only will it get you from empty to full in around 20 minutes , but that quick courser is actually include in the box seat . Many of its rivals extend no such supply .
The only downer I can put on the Note 13 Pro Plus charging frame-up is the lack of a wireless provision , but that ’s still quite rare at this price . You have the Pixel 7a in the opponent pillar , but that ’s about it .
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Should you buy it?
With its IP68 rating , the Note 13 Pro Plus has a flagship level of water and dust resistance .
It ’s a Xiaomi earpiece , so it come with stack of bloatware and an to a fault cluttered UI .
Final Thoughts
The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus is another accomplished mid - range smartphone from Xiaomi , and another worthwhile choice in the sub-£500 range .
It ’s got a tiptop - sharp OLED display , satisfying functioning , stack of storage , and an realised 200MP principal television camera . Stamina is decent , the design is notably ameliorate , and the provision of a 120W courser in the box make its rivals see like shirker .
However , Xiaomi ’s cluttered software continue to hold it back , even in its new HyperOS pretense . you may get a cleaner experience , not to mention faster performance and wireless charging , from the age Pixel 7a for the same or even less money .
Meanwhile , the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus ’s cousin , the Poco X6 Pro , offer a broadly corresponding experience ( and much fast functioning ) for significantly less money .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every mobile phone we go over thoroughly . We use manufacture - standard tests to compare characteristic properly and we use the headphone as our main machine over the review period . We ’ll always severalise you what we discover and we never , ever , consent money to review a product .
observe out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
No , Xiaomi has economise money and go all in on speedy pumped charging .
Yes , Xiaomi has included an impressive 120W battery charger in the box .
3 years of major Android updates , 4 years of security updates
Test Data
Full Specs
