The Redmi 13 is a budget-oriented device launched by the Xiaomi sub brand. With the handset they hope to entice prospective buyers looking for a handset that doesn’t need flashy features.
Like most entry-level options, it promises a balance of impressive features and hardware to hopefully redefine what “smartphone essentials” mean.
But does it succeed in doing so?
–Read on to find out.
Table of Contents
Design and Construction
Starting off with its build and construction. The Redmi 13’s frame is made out of a sturdy polycarbonate material.
Up top, we can find a rare 3.5mm audio jack and an infrared sensor for using the phone as a universal remote.
Situated on the left side is a dual nano SIM card tray, the second SIM slot is of the hybrid variety allowing for microSD storage expansion.
Found on the right side is the volume rocker and power button that doubles as a capacitive fingerprint scanner.
Last but not the least, at the bottom is where we find a noise-canceling microphone for calls, a USB Type-C port for charging and wired data transfers, followed by a single MONO speaker grille.
Our Redmi 13 unit is in the Sandy Gold colorway, but users can also find it in Midnight Black, Ocean Blue, and Pearl Pink.
The phone is a bit on the tall side at 168.6mm or about 6.6 inches, and it weighs in at 205g. The weight distribution of the Redmi 13 is nice and balanced in-hand, and even though it is tall, the button ergonomics feel great.
The device even features an IP53 certification, providing some protection against dust and splashes of water.
Just like the front, the back panel is made out of glass, making the overall package feel sturdy.
We can also find two camera housings here that feature chrome accented rings around them, and a ring light-type flash next to them.
Display, Multimedia, and Biometrics
Flip the phone over and we’re greeted by an okay 6.79-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display (2460 x 1080 at 396 ppi).
It sports a 90Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 550 nits in high beam mode.
We even get TÜV Rheinland low blue light, flicker-free, and circadian-friendly certifications, ensuring proper eye comfort when viewing the screen.
For display protection it features Corning Gorilla Glass for added scratch resistance.
When we first booted the Redmi 13, its display color profile or “scheme” as it’s called in the settings is set to Standard.
Which was fine but it looked a little washed-out.
Thankfully, we do have options for a more saturated of vivid color profile, the latter being the recommended setting, and it may not make the colors more accurate on this display but we feel it does look better in this instance.
When it came to media consumption on the Redmi 13, the experience when streaming videos and listening to music was a little lackluster.
For example, in Youtube we cannot recommend watching 4K videos and setting the playback resolution to 2160p, it bugs the screen out and renders the playback choppy or delayed, and pretty much unwatchable.
–So only up to 1440p folks.
For the auditory listening experience, we get a single MONO speaker system on the Redmi 13, and there’s no doubt that stereo speakers will always be more immersive.
One upside is it CAN get loud at high volumes to fill a small room but this does lead to distortion.
So for better audio immersion we definitely recommend taking advantage of the 3.5mm audio jack or pairing this up with some wireless earbuds.
For biometrics, the Redmi 13 gets fingerprint unlock with the capacitive power button. And even though I hate those, being left handed and all; This one works pretty okay because of the nice ergonomic button placements.
I can usually get it to recognize my left index finger on an average of 3 out of 5 times. But of course, right handed users won’t really have an issue here.
We also have optical face unlock options here, and it can recognize faces pretty quick too, but we find this unlocking option less secure.
Cameras
For optics, the Redmi 13 sports a dual rear camera setup headlined by a 108MP main camera, followed by a 2MP macro camera. In front it gets a 13MP selfie camera.
Overall picture quality from the Redmi 13’s cameras aren’t anything to write home about.
In good lighting conditions photos taken with the main and selfie cameras look okay with natural color reproduction.
Zooming and cropping with photos taken from the 108MP sensor also serves its purpose, featuring a dedicated mode for the full sensor readout.
Portrait shots with both the main and selfie camera are also surprisingly pretty good! The phone handles the cutouts for subject background separation with ease in optimal lighting.
But that performance does fall off a bit when in dim-lit or average lighting conditions.
Photos can look a lot more washed-out, especially when utilizing the macro sensor too.
For video, both the main and selfie camera sensors can shoot up to FHD or 1080p at 30 fps.
There is PDAF on the main camera sensor, but neither of the three cameras in the unit support any form of stabilization.
Overall, we think camera performance from the Redmi 13 is nothing more than average, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing when factoring in how much it costs.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s still a very usable camera system. Just don’t expect flagship picture quality here, because obviously it isn’t one.
OS, Apps, and UI
Running on Xiaomi HyperOS based on Android 14, the Redmi 13 offers a refreshed user interface with improved notifications, widgets, and a revamped home screen.
We don’t think HyperOS is the cleanest interface out there, due to it being riddled with pre-installed bloatware, and weird notification ads.
Although, users can mitigate these issues by restricting weird notifications and uninstalling unwanted apps.
Other than that, HyperOS is pretty nice and functional. We get a slew of customization options, including some pretty nice gesture shortcuts.
Because of the side-mounted capacitive power button, we can assign a shortcut for double-pressing and double-tapping to let’s say quick launch the camera, and turning on the flashlight.
Performance and Benchmarks
The brains behind the Redmi 13’s operations is a MediaTek Helio G91-Ultra.
A 12nm chipset capable of up to 2.0Ghz clock speeds and paired with a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU.
For configs, the Redmi 13 is officially available locally in three variants: 6GB+128GB, 8GB+128GB, and 8GB+256GB, respectively.
Like I mentioned earlier, it does get support for up to 1TB expandable storage via the hybrid SIM card tray.
Our unit is the 8GB of RAM, plus 256GB of internal storage configuration. And it was able to run our usual productivity apps like Google Docs and Sheets.
Multitasking is a little bit finicky since we have noticed the phone lag or stutter when switching between apps.
And when it comes to gaming, light games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang play pretty smooth on the Redmi 13.
But for more graphically intensive titles, like Genshin Impact, this might not be the phone for you.
–It does run the game either way, but graphics optimally defaults to its “Lowest” setting. And no I don’t think bumping up graphics here is wise.
But don’t take my word for it, check-out our benchmark results:
Antutu v10.2.8 – 276,186
Antutu Storage Test – 13,795
S.Read – 295.3 MB/s
S.Write – 269.0 MB/s
3D Mark: Wild Life – 719 (4.31 avg fps)
Geekbench 6
Single: 413
Multi: 1,432
Geekbench 6 GPU Vulkan – 1,086
Geekbench 6 GPU OpenCL – 576
PC Mark Work 3.0 Performance – 8,316
Battery
Powering the Redmi 13 is a 5,030mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging.
The 33W charger can top the phone up from 0% in a little more than an hour.
And when it came to our PCMark Work 3.0 Battery Test, the unit garnered a result of 10 hours and 26 minutes.
Then when it came to our standard Yugatech video loop test, the Redmi 13 only amounted to 10 hours and 16 minutes of playback.
This is surprising since our video loop tests are usually double that of PCMark’s Battery test. Both tests were also run with the same parameters of being in Airplane mode, display at 50% brightness, and volume muted to account for mixed usage variables.
Suffice to say, the battery life from the Redmi 13 is pretty average at best.
Connectivity
For connectivity, the Redmi 13 only supports up to 4G LTE bands for mobile connectivity. Which isn’t the biggest deal-breaker depending on the end user.
Apart from this it gets standard dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.4, and GPS.
Call quality over WiFi or mobile was perfectly normal in our testing with no major issues to take note of.
Conclusion
Now before we conclude this review, we definitely need to talk about price.
The Redmi 13 configured with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage goes for PHP 7,999. Which is how much last year’s top config Redmi 12 went for!
Now, can I recommend the Redmi 13 to you guys?
–Well yes I can if you’re a Redmi diehard fan on a budget.
Jokes aside, in our opinion there are better options out there for around the same price range, less than PHP 15K.
Options that offer AMOLED displays and 5G data connectivity.
Something like the Redmi 13 may arguably have better software optimization, but I personally, don’t feel like it’s enough to topple other options with an added PHP 2,000.
But if I focus only on the pros, the Redmi 13 is an alright entry-level smartphone. We get a substantially sturdy build, a 3.5mm audio jack, expandable storage, a usable camera system, and it can double as a universal remote.
If you’re someone looking for a pretty basic smartphone in 2024, maybe just for work or just as a backup phone that won’t hurt your wallets and purses, the Redmi 13 could be something for you to consider.
Those interested in purchasing the Redmi 13 should know that they’ll be getting a FREE 1 month subscription to Viu with every purchase via authorized Xiaomi stores.
What we LIKED:
- Affordability
- Build Quality
- 3.5mm audio jack
- 108MP Camera
What we Liked LESS:
- IPS LCD Display
- MONO speaker
- Battery Life
Redmi 13 specs:
6.79″ IPS LCD, 1080 x 2460 pixels, 90Hz refresh rate, 550 nits (peak), Corning Gorilla Glass
Mediatek Helio G91 Ultra
6GB / 8GB RAM
128GB / 256GB internal storage (expandable via microSD)
108MP f/1.8 main camera
2MP f/2.4 macro camera
13MP f/2.5 selfie camera
up to 1080p@30fps video recording
HyperOS based on Android 14
Hybrid Dual nano SIM
4G/LTE
WiFi 802.11
Bluetooth 5.4
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
IR Blaster
5,030mAh battery, 33W wired charging
Side mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor
3.5mm jack, FM radio
Dimensions: 168.6 x 76.3 x 8.3 mm
Weight: 205 grams
IP53, dust and splash resistant
Midnight Black, Sandy Gold, Ocean Blue, Pink
