Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G Long Term Review - High-end features for less?
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ arrived last January and now we will provide you our full review of the device.
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| The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G back view |
To recall, this is one of Redmi's mid-range contenders featuring flagship-worthy features from display, durability, performance, and even a 200MP high-resolution main camera.
For our review part 1: Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G Unboxing, First Impressions, Camera Samples
Multimedia Experience
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| The phone's vibrant display |
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G has a 6.67-inch Gorilla Glass Victus-protected 12-bit curved AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, and 1.5K 2712 x 1220 resolution at 446 ppi.
Neat display!
Just by looking at the display alone, you can already notice a lot of features. We are getting rich, vibrant, and clear details from the 1.5K resolution where most of its competitors are still in FHD+.
The curved panel provides an ergonomic feel, aesthetic vibes, and great viewing angles. Moreover, the 120Hz refresh rate and its 1920Hz PWM dimming make our viewing experience smooth and reduce eye strain when used for prolonged periods.
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| More display photos |
The screen also features Gorilla Glass Victus which makes it able to withstand some accidental drops and scratches.
Moreover, the 1800 nits of peak brightness suffices when viewing the screen under direct sunlight. Allowing us to see the images we shoot using the cameras, and quickly view messages or notifications.
We enjoyed every bit of viewing experience from its top-notch quality screen particularly when streaming videos, playing games, or simply doing social media or web browsing.
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| The dual speaker combo on top and bottom |
For audio, the device features stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support which is able to produce loud and clear audio. We were able to experience decent vocals, good bass, and crisp details. For us, were getting the optimal music quality at 60 to 70 percent.
Turning it up to max volume you notice sharpness at highs which may hurt your ears. And yes, the speakers produce relatively loud sound enough to be heard in the living room all the way to our kitchen area.
Cameras
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| The rear cameras |
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is equipped with a 200MP f/1.65 Samsung ISOCELL HP3 primary sensor with Super QPD Autofocus and OIS coupled with an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera + 2MP f/2.4 macro sensor.
Rear Camera Samples
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| Normal outdoor 1x |
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| Ultra-wide shot |
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| Using 2x zoom |
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| The 4x zoom |
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| The portrait mode outdoor |
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Indoor 1x
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| Indoor food shot 2nd sample |
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| Indoor portrait mode |
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| Normal low light vs Night Mode |
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| Using Night mode with visible trees |
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| Low light shot 1x and 2x zoom |
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| Original image vs with AI enhancement |
For us, the 200MP main camera performs really well, particularly in point-and-shoot situations. We are getting good details, dynamic range, contrast, and colors at least on our outdoor and indoor shots with good lighting.
Moreover, the camera has 2x to 4x in-sensor zoom which Xiaomi claims produces lossless quality. In our test, the 2x zoom is nearly similar in details and sharpness to the standard. Notching it up to 3x and 4x will still provide good-looking output but you will notice a gradual difference in sharpness and quality. Finally, the zoom is limited up to 10x only which delivers obvious grainy images. We're hoping that Redmi may consider a telephoto or even better zoom sensors in their next iteration as 2MP filler cameras have only a handful of usefulness.
The 8MP ultra-wide is usable and provides decent images but it is still evident with the lesser picture quality. It gets darker, sometimes a little less bland, and noticeable changes in white balance.
Using portrait mode will provide blur in the background of your subject with good edge detection. But we notice the blurring is not perfect as there are some areas that didn't get covered. There's a refocus option as well to adjust the blur and focus however there are occasions when the blur will still not cover some areas.
When it comes to dark situations, the cameras performed okay too but there will be expected noise depending on how much light is in the surroundings. You will also notice a lesser dynamic range and darker colors.
To improve our low-light shots, we had to use Night Mode, which can improve the image quality overall and get desirable results. The dynamic range, details, colors, and accuracy is noticeably acceptable compared to not using this mode.
Another highlight is the AI image editor here. For example, you took a photo in gloomy weather and you want to improve that. You can edit them right away and let AI improve your captures with a more cloudy sunny look among dozens of options to change the weather background. You can also edit the bokeh effect, remove people, objects, shadows, beautify, craft, or even add frames.
However most of these AI features still need more refinement as sometimes the bokeh won't work properly, and the scene/objects/shadows/people cannot be detected thus ending up becoming less usable. We're hoping Xiaomi can fix that in the next updates.
For video, the phone is capable of taking 1080p recordings for 30 fps and 60 fps. It's a bummer that higher frames are limited to that and won't be usable in 4K resolution. It is also worth noting that the stabilization feature is limited to 1080p 30 fps only as well. This means you'll need to have steady hands or use gimbal stabilizers to achieve less shaky videos at higher resolution quality.
Selfie camera
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| The selfie camera |
At the front, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G features a 16MP f/2.45 shooter.
Selfie Camera samples
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| Selfie shot daylight |
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| Selfie shot indoor |
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| Selfie portrait mode |
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| Selfie shot at night with bokeh |
When it comes to selfies, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is in the alright zone. You can get clear photos and good details. In terms of color, it doesn't look as natural, it's evident it makes our face reddish which is likely the work of AI. Apparently, even if you turn off the HDR mode, it will still be like that.
In low light, you will see visible noise and lesser dynamic range as well as a slightly darker tone.
Performance
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ sports a 2.8GHz 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Ultra octa-core processor with Mali-G610 MC4 GPU, 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 512GB UFS 3.1 storage. By the way, there's also the more affordable 256GB variant.
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| The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ benchmark results |
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G benchmark scores:
1. AnTuTu - 729,668 points
2. Geekbench - 1,100 single-core, 2,636 multi-core
3. 3D Mark Wild Life - 4,192 points
4. CPDT - write speed 553.7Mbps, read speed 378.15Mbps
In our daily usage, the phone's performance was indeed fast and smooth, being capable of running several apps in the background and multiple tabs in Chrome with barely noticeable slowdowns.
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| Settings for farlight 84 |
When running games, mainstream titles like MLBB and Farlight 84 both ran at 120 frames per second. The difference is that in Mobile Legends, the graphics were set to Ultra, while in Farlight 84, the visuals were set to High. MLBB can maintain 120 frames per second in intense matches. On the other hand, we see occasional drops of 80 to 60 fps for Farlight 84. That's alright since it has an open-world style and more players on the screen.
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| Mobile Legends and Genshin Impact settings |
For Genshin Impact, we recorded 45-60 fps depending on the location and the number of enemies. If you want to maintain smoother framerates, the Redmi's gaming hub can allow you to boost the performance, but of course at the expense of faster battery drain and warmer temperatures.
Speaking of which, the phone registered around 37-38 degrees Celsius if you played under normal gaming situations. Boosting the performance will go above 40-43 degrees Celsius.
For RAM, the 12GB LPDDR5X provides plenty of space and is fast enough, allowing us to run several apps at once. In the storage department, the phone's 512GB is future-proof and can let us save as many photos, games, videos, and large files as we want without worrying too much about space. As of this writing, we could only consume around 100GB, so we still have plenty of room to use.
In terms of battery, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G features a 5,000mAh capacity with 120W fast charging support. We were able to record 11 hours and 28 minutes on our PC Mark battery, which is on the decent side. You would have enough juice to get by through the day. In real-life usage, it is more than a day for light to medium tasks such as browsing social media, watching videos, and occasionally gaming. If you're a heavy user, you can still expect a shorter battery life than the benchmark result.
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| 120W fast charging! |
Moving to charging, this is one of the device's highlights as Xiaomi claims you can fill the battery to full in just 19 minutes. In our actual test were able to fully charge the phone in 24 minutes with 18 percent battery life.
Also, when enabling the turbo charge function, we were able to get 35 percent in just 3 minutes, coming from zero. That's blazing fast, especially if you forgot to charge it and need to leave the house immediately. Do note the temperature rises when in this mode. Fortunately, it's not on an alarming level.
For connectivity, it has WiFi 6 (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G, or 4G data connection, which gives us steady internet speeds depending on the location.
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| Redmi Note 13 Pro+ HyperOS |
For OS, the phone initially runs Android 13 with MIUI 14 skin on top. This gave us a lot of annoying ads frequently. However, after 2 months, we were able to receive the much-needed HyperOS update.
This is significantly faster, smoother, and comes with a refreshing look in the UI. There are several customization options, such as blurring your notification panel, optimized widgets, a redesigned weather app, and better notifications. You can even drag the messages to create a small window for easier replying.
The multitasking looks way better and more convenient with the enhanced multi-window interface. Overall, we liked how Xiaomi revamped its operating system as a whole. Not only is it smoother, but it is also lighter. In terms of battery efficiency, we find that it takes a lot longer to drain it compared to before.
Also, despite having the HyperOS upgrade, we notice there are still occasional ads here, depending on the app. You can have them removed in each of their settings. However, the file management app is the only one where we cannot fully remove the ad pop-up feature. The rest can be modified.
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G Specs
Display: 6.67-inch Gorilla Glass Victus CrystalRes 12-bit AMOLED display w/ 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1.5K 2712 x 1220 resolution at 446 ppi
CPU: 2.8GHz 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7200-Ultra octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-G610
RAM: 8GB/12GB LPDDR5
ROM: 256GB/512GB UFS 3.1
Back Camera: 200MP f/1.65 w/ Super QPD Autofocus, OIS + 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle + 2MP f/2.4 macro + LED flash
Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.45
Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 120W HyperCharge
OS: Android 13 w/ MIUI 14
Connectivity: WiFi 6 (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, OTG, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (nano)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope,
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP68 dust and water resistance, IR Blaster, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, USB-C, Colors: Midnight Black, Moonlight White, Aurora Purple, Mystic Silver
Dimensions: 161.4 x 74.2 x 8.9 mm
Weight: 187 g
Price: PHP 23,999
Pros - Vibrant high-resolution display, Gorilla Glass Victus 2, good performing chip, large storage, long battery life, 120W fast charging, a good point-and-shoot sensor on proper lighting, IP68 dust and water resistance
Cons - Ads can be annoying in some apps, the main and selfie cameras have fewer details in low light
Verdict
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ still presents attractive premium features.
You can get a stunning 1.5K resolution 12-bit color curved display, great performance, future-proof large 512GB storage, durable construction, IP68 rating, 200MP clear camera, long battery life, and speedy charging all for a price of PHP 23,999.
There's also a much cheaper variant, 8GB/256GB priced at PHP 20,999.
Redmi is also improving in terms of updates. They now started listening to fans by providing at least 3 years of OS updates, plus another year of security patches.
Overall, this is a solid contender at under PHP 25K, providing a rounded spec sheet that may cater to most of what you would look for in a smartphone today.
Does this get our stamp of approval? Definitely a yes!
What do you guys think?
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