Redmi Note 13 Pro Review

A brand synonymous with innovation and affordability, Redmi is renowned for delivering feature-packed smartphones that combine cutting-edge design with powerful performance, making advanced technology accessible to all.

Announced in China last 2023, the Redmi Note 13 Pro finally made its way to the rest of the world, starting today.

Packing an almost bezel-less 6.69-inch AMOLED display, MediaTek Helio G99-Ultra, and a triple rear camera system highlighted by a 200MP camera, is the Redmi Note 13 Pro a great smartphone to kick this year off with? Let’s figure it out in this review!

Design and Construction

In a crowded market where bendy-screen foldable smartphones are more prevalent than ever, as a reviewer, I personally still do prefer the more traditional bar type smartphones, as they are easier on the hands in terms of ergonomics, and the Redmi Note 13 Pro is a perfect example of that.

With flat side design as well as sharp rounded corners, the device is easy on the hands whether you have small hands or not.

Build-wise, the truth is, I am surprised considering how affordable this device is, buyers will find that they get more than expected. It is made out of an aluminum frame with a glass-back panel – or should I say, we just assume that it is glass – either way it’s a win win, you get a glass back panel at this cost, or if it is a plastic material, it’s a well-built back panel that feels sturdy and wont be bending anytime soon.

In addition, this device has corning Gorilla Glass 5 and has an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance.

Moving over to the rear, we have a very simplistic design here, aside from the Redmi and 200MP branding, we have a huge camera module as well as the LED flash. BUT, since this is a glossy back panel, it is prone to fingerprints and smudges, thankfully, there’s this matte textured jelly case included in the box to at the very least remedy that.

For buttons and ports, we have a very tactile volume rocker and sleep/wake button situated on the right side;

Dual nano SIM slot on the left side;

USB Type-C, microphone and 1 of 2 speaker grilles down at the bottom, and a up top we have a 3.5mm audio jack, IR blaster, secondary microphone and 2 out of 2 stereo speakers. The placing of the sleep/wake button is at the sweet spot, situated in the middle of the frame.

Display and Multimedia

For the display, we have a 6.69-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 and features support for an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

One thing that I personally like about this device is the bezels, as there is no longer a thick chin, we have asymmetrical bezels around the display making your viewing experience much more immersive and in general, it’s more pleasing to look at.

For the display itself, it’s pretty nice, color reproduction is well balanced, contrast is great of course as it is an AMOLED panel, and it is fairly bright when used outdoors. Dark mode is also present here, there’s also reading mode in which turns the screen into a warmer tone so it’s easy on the eyes. There’s also an Always On display in the mix for you to take advantage for less screen-on time.

Overall, I’ll give the display on the Redmi Note 13 Pro a solid 9 out of 10. Better than its flagship counterparts? –Definitely not, but at the price category that this device is in, this display is definitely worth checking-out!

For its speakers, we have a stereo setup here, and although it is not the best in its class, it can easily fill up to room at maximum volume. Well to be fair, it sounds okay, somewhat balanced, but I don’t like that there are some instances where it sounds tiny.

Thankfully, we have a 3.5mm headphone jack here to take advantage of if ever wireless output devices are unavailable.

Cameras

Unveiling the Redmi Note 13 Pro’s camera arsenal, we’re talking serious optics here— well at least on paper.

For starters we have a beefy 200MP wide PDAF sensor, sporting OIS for that buttery smooth video output, an 8MP ultra-wide for those expansive shots, and a 2MP macro camera, because details matter— uhmm kidding. But yeah we’ll see the quality in a bit.

Flip it around for selfies, and you’re greeted by a respectable 16MP front shooter.

For its Camera quality? It’s hanging in there, nothing that’s gonna rewrite the photography rulebook.

Regular shots bring out satisfactory colors; it’s not jaw-dropping, but it’s reliable. HDR is in the mix, so dynamic range gets a little boost.

Now moving over to the Portrait mode, again, we have to take into account that this is a midrange device, not a flagship one, that being said, subject separation can get finicky at times, especially subjects with complex edges, but still usable for casual Facebook or IG stories.

Taking a moment to share some thoughts on the Redmi Note 13 Pro’s camera setup. No disrespect intended, but can we address the tiny elephant in the room? The macro camera – it’s 2024, and I’m wondering if there’s room for a more versatile sensor in that slot.

I get it, flooding the marketing with “macro lens” feels more like a premium feature, but as a consumer, I find myself questioning its practicality.

What about considering a depth sensor instead? Imagine the potential for slightly improved portrait shots. Or, Trim down the triple sensors and redistribute that tiny macro camera budget into beefing up the main, ultrawide, or even a telephoto sensor.

Just throwing in my two cents for a camera setup that might align better with the evolving needs of users in 2024.

But nonetheless, the Redmi Note 13 Pro, is not exactly a camera maestro, but it’s holding its own, delivering practical versatility. When you’re capturing your everyday moments, it’s got your back with a solid imaging game. Well except for that macro sensor (I’m really not a fan).

That being said, I’ll give the Redmi Note 13 Pro a 6 out of 10 in the camera department.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering the Redmi Note 13 Pro is the Helio G99-Ultra processor, delivering reliable performance for day-to-day tasks. While editing a lengthy 1080p video project in CapCut or handling heavy RAW images in Lightroom may encounter occasional hiccups, the device seamlessly moves between apps.

Gaming is commendable, with the capability to run Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends at a high frame rate, ALMOST consistently fixed at 40-50fps, even on the highest graphic settings. However, during our testing, slight hiccups were noticeable due to the device warming up when pushing graphics to the limit. Although this is expected as the processor reaches its capacity, it does affect performance, causing frame rates to fluctuate between 28-35fps.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro handles graphically intensive titles without major performance throttling concerns. There’s also an additional 4GB of RAM when you enable RAM extension.

The Helio G99 Ultra chipset does a decent job optimizing performance, earning the device a score of 7.5 out of 10 in the performance category.

An easy to recommend smartphone for casual gamers and productivity multitaskers.

Connectivity and Security

For connectivity, I hate to break it to you, but we only have up to 4G LTE on the Redmi Note 13 Pro. For other connectivity features, we have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and USB Type-C for wired data transfers, tethering, and Android Auto.

For security, we do have an in-display fingerprint scanner which is a quick and easy way to unlock your device, and much more secure too as compared to the facial recognition, which is also present on the Redmi Note 13 Pro and Pro Plus models.

OS, Apps, and UI

When it comes to UI, running on the Redmi Note 13 Pro is MIUI 14 skinned on top of Android 13.Upon first boot, we are greeted with a bevy of bloatware preinstalled which can easily be removed in just a few steps if you want it all gone.

Overall, MIUI is easy to use, especially for those coming from a POCO, Redmi, or Xiaomi devices, you will feel right at home, but for those people who are coming from other Android interfaces or even iOS, MIUI is easy to navigate too with a plethora of customization options baked in. Apart from changing your wallpapers and adding widgets to your homescreen, you can also change your theme, icons and a like.

One thing I might hate about this OS is that there are Ads on some stock apps which is somewhat annoying. But in a way, all phone manufacturers do this nowadays.

Battery

Powering up this device is a 5000mAh lithium ion cell which also has support for fast charging. In our experience, from 0-80% we are getting somewhere between 35-40 minutes of charging time using the included charging brick.

In casual use, we can stretch the battery to a solid one and almost a half day of usage which is good, but for people who often play games and do heavy tasks, expect it to charge it by the end of the day – which in my opinion is still good.

In our Video loop test, we yielded a score of 11 hours and 12 minutes while we get a 12 hours 17 minutes via PCMark Work 3.0 Battery test which in our book is a decent result.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Redmi Note 13 Pro could potentially be one of the solid contenders in its segment as you get a more than an average display, good performance, decent cameras and a reliable battery. One thing that we think that you need to keep in mind is that, its still a 4G LTE smartphone – well to some this might not be a dealbreaker, but to others it is, especially that 5G is now widely available in the country; a high-speed connectivity that we should all take advantage of.

For pricing, the 8GB + 256GB configuration is priced at PHP 13,999 while PHP 15,999 for the 12GB + 512GB variant.

What do you guys think about the Redmi Note 13 Pro? Has our experience helped you decide whether to get one or not?

Do let us know in the comments section below!

Redmi Note 13 Pro (4G) Specs

6.67″ AMOLED 2400 x 1080 pixels
Corning Gorilla Glass 5, 120Hz, 1300 nits
Mediatek Helio G99-Ultra
8GB, 12GB LPDDR4X RAM
256GB, 512GB UFS 2.2
200MP f/1.65, OIS main camera
8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera
2MP f/2.4 macro camera
16MP front camera
SIM 1+ Hybrid (SIM or microSD)
4G
WiFi 5
Bluetooth 5.2
GPS
NFC
IR Blaster
5,000mAh 67W
In-screen fingerprint sensor
Dolby Atmos
In-screen fingerprint sensor
IP54
188 grams
161.1mm x 74.95mm x 7.98mm
Midnight Black, Lavender Purple, Forest Green