Leica’s Xiaomi 13 Pro is the new king in photography.

Its outsider status was not going be a good fit for it indefinitely. For many years, Xiaomi has been producing interesting copies in premium segments. We were impressed by the Xiaomi 12 Pro last year. Yes, we know it’s true, but every year, the competition continues its excellence. This is the case with the Oppo Find X3 Pro Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the Oppo Find X3 Pro.

It is easy to catch up, and eventually surpass this tiny world. You can’t do as well, you have to do better. It looks like Xiaomi is trying to outdo all others in technical specifications this year.

The manufacturer is not afraid to raise prices to match its high-end products. Xiaomi is open to changing its stance on the mid-range and entry sector, as well as the quality price ratio, and will be following the lead of its competitors. Premium comes at a cost. Did the manufacturer do the right job? Does the Xiaomi 13 Pro really justify such a high price? Find out the answer in our complete test.

Price and availability for Xiaomi 13 Pro

Xiaomi announced the official arrival of its 13th series in France two years after its launch in China to great fanfare.

In the bag of the manufacturer, a 13 Lite (8/128 GB) at € 499, a 13 (8/256 GB) at € 999.90 and our 13 Pro (12/256 GB) at € 1 299. It’s a shame that the 13 Pro is only available as a black or white model for such a high price. It is currently on sale since March 8, 2023.

Made for multimedia

Here’s an area where Xiaomi has been very successful this year. We may examine the datasheet in great detail. There is nothing missing. WQHD+ (3200 x 1400 pixels), 6.7 inch LTPO OLED display, adaptive refreshrate between 1 and 120 Hz. HDR10+ and DolbyVision. Atmos for sound. The Xiaomi 13 Pro has everything you need for multimedia.

We don’t notice any difference in the Full HD+ screen, which is classic on high-end, or the 13 Pro for the first few days. After a week, the eye begins to notice subtle differences in the contents. This includes differences in gray and dark tones, as well as bright colors. This little game shows that the latest Xiaomi is a great student. According to 01Lab tests, the screen scored a DeltaE 1.62 in “Color Orginal” mode. This score is excellent: the color temperature almost matches the original.

The guy is also a heavyweight when it comes to brightness. The Xiaomi 13 Pro adapts to any lighting situation, whether it is outdoors, indoors, or in a darkened room. This allows us to enjoy the best comfort of vision. Xiaomi also provides great sound quality.

These powerful speakers are not loud enough to drown out at full volume, but they produce a clear and undistorted sound. This aspect is where Xiaomi outperforms Samsung and all its Android competitors.

Keep your head cool

It is impossible to rub shoulders with the elite without the most recent Qualcomm chip. The heart of the Xiaomi 13 Pro is, therefore, not surprising. A Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoCIt comes with 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM, and 256GB of storage. It is difficult to use the Xiaomi 13 Pro every day with such a configuration. Animations are smooth and fast, browsing photos is effortless without any latency, and you can run multiple apps simultaneously without worrying about slowdowns. It’s also a joy to use video streaming.

It is a leader in gaming performance and stability. It doesn’t matter if it’s on Diablo Immortals and Call of Duty Mobile: Diablo Immortals Or Genshin Impact We were able to play comfortably at maximum graphics and 60 FPS. A game lasting more than an hour on the succulent is not possible on the long-term. TMNT Shredder’s RevengeWe only saw very rare framerate drops.

We were initially nervous about heating. It was the biggest flaw in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Qualcomm chip. We were not reassured by the new 8 Gen 2 SoC’s heat dissipation capabilities after our test with the OnePlus 11. But, Xiaomi’s engineers did a fantastic job of optimization.

After a half hour of intensive use, the smartphone heats up a little. The smartphone then calculates how to distribute this temperature increase across the device. The Xiaomi 13 is quite slim at 74.6 x162.9 mm, so it’s not annoying.

The battery life is longer and charging speeds are faster

Last year, we were left hungry by the autonomy of the Xiaomi 2 Pro. It was accurate, but not perfect. The Chinese manufacturer has slightly increased its battery capacity for 2023. It now goes from 4 600 mAh up to 4820mAh. Is this enough to improve its autonomy?

It can last up to a day with intensive use (screen time of around 5 hours) and energy-consuming activities like 3D games and video streaming. It will have to be charged again the next day before lunch. It stayed awake for almost two days even though it was only used for a very basic purpose. It started to fade around 8pm and we had to recharge it in order to enjoy it again in the evening.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is better than its predecessor. It performs as well as the rest of the competition in basic usage, but it is still a step below Samsung in heavy usage.

Xiaomi is a trusted name in charging technology. The solid 120W wired block of Xiaomi’s charger is a great help. It takes approximately 15 minutes to recover half of the 50% using the 13 Pro. Battery life is less than 30 minutes and takes less than 30 minutes to fully charge. It’s fast and efficient. This is especially important because Xiaomi includes a charger with its device, unlike Apple and Samsung. You should also know that the smartphone supports a 50W wireless charging, which is not included here, and that it can be reverse charged to 10W.

Leica, the X factor?

This smartphone was released only in China, despite the fact that the 12 S Ultra launched the first collaboration between Xiaomi and Leica last year. In our countries, the smartphone is now available in English. This new marriage was officially inaugurated by the Xiaomi 13 Pro The German manufacturer. The configuration of the 13 Pro is shown below:

• An ultra wide-angle module: 50MPl sensor, 14mm lens with f/2.2 aperture, 115°.
• A telephoto lens, 50 Mpxl with 75 mm lens and f/2.0 aperture. It has an optical zoom of up to 3.2X and digital zoom of up to 70x.
• A module for selfie: 32 Mpxl, with aperture of f2.0, 89.6°.

Leica developed the software part that allows you to switch between an “Authentic”, and “Vibrant”, at any time and on all back sensors. This choice isn’t insignificant. It really affects the colorimetric rendering. The first one provides very natural photos with a well-managed dynamic range.

The second mode places more emphasis on colors, particularly blue and green, to produce a more vivid result. The “Authentic” mode is our favorite but amateur photographers will love it, especially for photos of landscapes or monuments. For shots for social media, the “Vibrant mode” should not be overlooked. You can also use many Leica filters such as a black-and-white rather than bluffing. A tribute to monochrome, so dear Leica, very well done.

During the day the main sensor works well. The 1 inch sensor gives the shot a sharpness that isn’t artificial looking. Even in gray skies, the shot is full of details.

The sensors can analyze light projections very well to enhance the contrasts of good shapes and textures. It’s great art!

The gallery is also impressed by the telephoto lens on the Xiaomi 13 Pro. This sensor has a magnification default of 3.2x and produces stunning results, thanks to its perfectly controlled white balance. The colorimetry is soft without any unwanted software smoothing.

It is possible to increase the size of your photo to x5 and still keep all these characteristics. The photo will be more of anecdotal than artistic. Let’s also mention that the autofocus tracking proved to be very efficient during our testing.

Leica’s expertise is also evident on the portrait side. The bokeh management is very intuitive. The smartphone also has different focal lengths to offer different pleasures (35mm in B&W or 50mm, 75mm, 90mm or 75mm). The selfie mode is also very effective, although it does have a tendency to slightly distort your skin depending on the circumstances. It is regrettable that so many manufacturers don’t follow the lead of Google, which offers True Tone, a feature which faithfully reproduces different skin colors.

All of this combined, the Xiaomi 13 Pro provides a very pleasant photograph experience. It’s a joy to browse through the options and find the best framing for your shot. Leica’s partnership is a strong one. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is easy for beginners, amateurs, and professionals.

Unfortunately, this pleasure is not complete on the ultra-wide-angle part or the “Night” mode. The smartphone produces good results in the first mode, but the photos are not sharp enough despite the excellent colorimetry.

The second is that the Xiaomi 13 Pro captures a lot of light, but it is not able to keep the whole thing consistent. The image is very detailed, but it fails to capture the digital noise and light flares around the edges.

Although the result is good, the Samsung Galaxy S23 does better. This is due to better micro-contrast management.

Lazy design, perfectible software

We are very disappointed that we have to end this part. This is not due to the quality of the manufacturing. The slight curve of the screen is not defective, just as the aluminum frame. It does not come from the grip. It weighs 229g and measures 8.38mm. However, the smartphone handles very well due to its evenly distributed weight. It will take some practice to use the smartphone with one hand, but it is not difficult for a 6.7 inch smartphone.

We find the Xiaomi 13 Pro lacking ambition in design to be a major flaw. It feels like a midrange model smartphone, but upgraded to business-class a little too quickly. It lacks a particular detail, a material, or a color that would give it a true temperament. It has no defects, but the camera block at its back is impossible and lacks any charm.

There is a back, very shiny, with an almost ceramic texture. The idea is great, but the phone catches fingerprints far too often. This is a common observation, but it turns out that the phone can get as dirty as a slut in just 10 minutes. It is really unprofessional to have to clean your smartphone or put a transparent case on it. It makes the phone look even less expensive. We took 5 minutes to get these photos with a cloth.

Although tastes and colors can be debated, the Xiaomi 13 Pro’s classicism will suit many people. Apple, Samsung, and Google are doing better in this area of “appearance” at the moment.

Software is no exception. The Xiaomi 13 introduces the new MIUI 14 overlay. It’s easy to use, thanks to its well-designed control centre and interesting features such as the ability of enlarging certain applications on your home screen. However, the smartphone can sometimes be a great choice for graphics. Old school Its ergonomics. The whole thing can look messy sometimes, especially in notifications and the colorimetric consistency of backgrounds.

Our opinion about the Xiaomi 13 Pro

The 2023 vintage of the Chinese manufacturer is certainly better than the one last year. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a delight to use every day thanks to its stunning screen, high-quality performance, controlled heating, and convincing audio part. It is as experience-oriented as Samsung’s latest flagship.

We can clearly see the Leica contribution to the photo section in terms of software and colorimetry. The main sensor, the Telephoto lens, and Portrait Are already bordering on perfection. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is clearly the leader in these categories. We are not worried about the Xiaomi 13 Pro’s ultra-wide angle or “Night” mode, although they could be improved. The partnership with Leica is just beginning. If the two manufacturers continue to work in this direction, Xiaomi could soon be the new benchmark in photography on Android. As Huawei was for a few decades…

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is slower than its competitors in other aspects. It charges fast and has a good battery life, but it can be a bit slow when used hard. We are not impressed by its design. This is because our severity is proportional to its price. This is perhaps its biggest flaw.

A smartphone that costs 1,299 Euros should be great all around. Although the Xiaomi 13 Pro excels in many areas, it is not perfect in all. It has made many improvements this year and it could be even better. For now, Apple and Samsung remain the absolute leaders in the ultra-premium segment.