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How do you stand out in a section the place each cellphone is just about flawless? Xiaomi has turned to the digital camera because the differentiator lately — the Mi 10 Professional launched a 108MP digital camera, the Mi 11 Extremely had a big 1/1.12-inch sensor and took excellent images, and final 12 months’s Xiaomi 12S Extremely was the primary with a 1-inch sensor.
Xiaomi had a comparatively quiet 2022, with its greatest gadgets — the MIX Fold 2 and 12S Extremely — restricted to its residence market. Whereas that is not altering, Xiaomi is brining that large 1-inch sensor to international markets with the introduction of the Xiaomi 13 Professional. The cellphone options the identical Sony IMX989 module on the again and retains the Leica tuning, and Xiaomi is intent on going after Samsung and Google with its newest flagship.
Xiaomi did a fantastic job cramming a bigger battery than final 12 months in a chassis that is roughly the identical measurement, and also you get 120W wired and 50W wi-fi charging. The Xiaomi 12 Professional missed out on IP68 ingress safety, and the 13 Professional rectifies that as nicely. Clearly, Xiaomi hasn’t put a foot incorrect right here, so let’s check out what you are getting with the Xiaomi 13 Professional, and whether or not it may well tackle the likes of the Galaxy S23 Extremely and Vivo X90 Professional.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Pricing and availability
The Xiaomi 13 collection was unveiled in China on the finish of December, and it’s getting a world launch at MWC. Xiaomi will kick off gross sales in India, U.Okay., France, and different international markets within the coming weeks.
In China, the Xiaomi 13 Professional begins off at 4,999 RMB ($718) for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, 5,399 RMB ($776) for the 8GB/256GB mannequin, 5,799 RMB ($833) for the 12GB/256GB version, and 6,299 RMB ($905) for the 12GB/512GB mannequin.
In fact, the gadget is not fairly as reasonably priced exterior Xiaomi’s residence market. The Xiaomi 13 Professional kicks off at €1,299 ($1,373) in European international locations for the 12GB/256GB model, with the usual Xiaomi 13 obtainable for €999 ($1,056). That’s significantly greater than the €1,149 ($1,214) Xiaomi charged for the 12 Professional final 12 months, however nonetheless lower than the Galaxy S23 Extremely’s €1,399 ($1,480) beginning determine within the area.
The cellphone will make its debut in India within the coming weeks, however Xiaomi hasn’t divulged what it should price within the area simply but — I am going to replace the publish as soon as I do know extra.
Like Samsung and different producers, Xiaomi is utilizing the older UFS 3.1 storage for the 128GB storage variants, and providing the newest UFS 4.0 for the 256GB and 512GB fashions. Fortunately, the model is not bringing the 128GB mannequin exterior China, however when you’re eyeing the usual Xiaomi 13, I might recommend getting the 256GB model.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Design
Samsung and OnePlus like to take care of visible consistency throughout generations, however that is not the case with Xiaomi. The Chinese language producer goes out of its approach to verify its newest gadgets have an all-new aesthetic, and that is the case with the Xiaomi 13 collection as nicely. If something, Xiaomi is taking issues to a different excessive this 12 months, with the Xiaomi 13 Professional not sharing a lot resemblance with the usual Xiaomi 13 both. The usual mannequin has flat sides and a glass again, and the in-hand really feel could be very totally different between the 2.
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With the Xiaomi 13 Professional, Xiaomi switched again to a ceramic again and a big digital camera island. It is rather totally different to the Xiaomi 12 Professional and Xiaomi 12S Extremely, and the design is actually extra consistent with the Mi 11 Extremely — albeit narrower. The Mi 11 Extremely continues to be considered one of my favourite Xiaomi telephones of all time, and the Xiaomi 13 Professional feels simply nearly as good to carry, and the truth that it’s 1.4mm narrower means it is not as unwieldy.
The cellphone has symmetrical curves at the back and front, and there is sufficient width on the mid-frame to carry it with none points. Because the digital camera housing extends a significantly approach throughout the again, the cellphone does not wobble as a lot as its predecessor when utilizing on a flat floor. You will discover the facility and quantity buttons on the proper, there’s an IR blaster on the prime, and USB-C charging port together with the dual-SIM card tray on the backside.
Xiaomi has three colour choices this time, and all embody the ceramic end: white, black, and inexperienced. Whereas I just like the ceramic end greater than glass, it smudges very simply, and the white model does a greater job hiding these than the black mannequin I am utilizing.
One other space the place the Xiaomi 13 Professional resembles the Mi 11 Extremely is ingress safety — you get IP68 mud and water resistance as normal. Xiaomi was the one mainstream model to not supply this function on its high-end telephones final 12 months, so I am glad to see the Chinese language producer rectify the state of affairs this time round.
Total, it is a very polished design, and Xiaomi nailed the heft and measurement; the Xiaomi 13 Professional feels fantastic in each day use.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Show
Xiaomi did not change the display this 12 months, with the 13 Professional that includes the identical 6.73-inch QHD+ (3200 x 1440) AMOLED panel as its predecessor. You get the identical 120Hz refresh fee and the power to stream Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+ content material, and there is Widevine L1 out of the field. Whereas the panel itself is unchanged, Xiaomi is delivering increased brightness figures this time, with the 13 Professional capable of go as much as 1,200 nits in common use and 1,900 nits for HDR content material — greater than the S23 Extremely and every other Android gadget.
Like final 12 months, the display is ready to go right down to 1Hz for static content material, permitting the gadget to preserve battery life when studying long-form content material. It routinely switches again to 120Hz as quickly as you work together with the panel, and right down to 30Hz when streaming movies. Xiaomi does a fantastic job calibrating its telephones, and it is no totally different with the 13 Professional — the cellphone has unbelievable colour vibrancy and distinction ranges, and is among the many greatest you will discover as we speak.
There is not any scarcity of customization both, and also you get a good choice of always-on modes. You will additionally discover the same old tweaks for adjusting the colour steadiness to your tastes, and due to an ambient colour sensor, the cellphone can routinely modify colours based mostly on ambient gentle. Like all Xiaomi gadgets, the display is ready to FHD+ and 60Hz out of the field, so you’ll need to enter the settings to change to QHD+ mode and toggle 120Hz.
I did not run into any points when taking part in video games or streaming content material on the Xiaomi 13 Professional, and the display is a delight to make use of. One space the place Xiaomi is altering issues is the onboard audio — the cellphone does not have similar stereo channels, with the secondary speaker tucked into the earpiece.
That mentioned, there may be an outlet for the speaker on the prime, and whereas the gadget does not get fairly as detailed as final 12 months, it’s nonetheless among the many greatest on this space.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Efficiency
I used telephones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for simply over two months now, and I can say with out hesitation that Qualcomm did a terrific job this 12 months. On all of the gadgets I used to this point, I did not see any throttling after prolonged use, any points with battery life, or any kind of overheating.
| Class | Xiaomi 13 Professional |
|---|---|
| OS | MIUI 14 based mostly on Android 13 |
| Show | 6.73-inch 120Hz QHD+ (3200×1440) LTPO AMOLED, Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 1 x 3.2GHz Cortex X3, 2 x 2.8GHz Cortex A715, 2 x 2.8GHz Cortex A710, 3 x 2.0GHz Cortex A510, Adreno 740, 4nm |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 128GB UFS 3.1, 256GB/512GB UFS 4.0 |
| Rear digital camera 1 | 50MP 1-inch f/1.9 Sony IMX989, 1.6um pixels, OIS, 8K at 24fps, 4K at 60fps, Dolby Imaginative and prescient |
| Rear digital camera 2 | 50MP f/2.0, telephoto lens, OIS, 3.2x optical zoom |
| Rear digital camera 3 | 50MP f/2.2 wide-angle lens, 115-degree subject of view |
| Entrance digital camera | 32MP mounted focus |
| Ingress safety | IP68 mud and water resistance |
| Safety | In-screen optical fingerprint module, face unlock |
| Audio | Stereo sound, USB-C, 24-bit/192kHz audio |
| Battery | 4820mAh, 120W wired charging, 50W wi-fi charging, 10W reverse wi-fi charging |
| Dimensions | 162.9 x 74.6 x 8.4mm, 229g |
| Colours | Ceramic Black, Ceramic White, Ceramic Inexperienced, Mountain Blue (leather-based) |
Having switched to the Xiaomi 13 Professional from the Galaxy S23 Extremely, I did not see any shortcomings in any way. The cellphone is excellent in each day use, and there is greater than sufficient energy to blaze by demanding video games. Like different manufacturers, Xiaomi is utilizing a big cooling system on the 13 Professional, and that ensures the gadget does not overheat even after prolonged gaming periods.
Like Samsung, Xiaomi is utilizing two totally different storage modules, with the 128GB mannequin getting the older UFS 3.1 storage and the 256GB/512GB variants that includes the newest UFS 4.0. Provided that UFS 4.0 is almost twice as quick for 4K workloads, you are higher off avoiding the bottom mannequin. There is not a noticeable distinction in the intervening time, however when you’re paying north of $1,000 for a cellphone, you might as nicely get a mannequin that has the newest {hardware}.
Xiaomi is providing the gadget in 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and the 8GB mannequin by itself is greater than sufficient for something Android has to supply. For reference, I am utilizing the 12GB/512GB mannequin.
| Class | Galaxy S23 Extremely | Xiaomi 13 Professional | Xiaomi 12 Professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| CrossMark (Total) | 1295 | 1205 | 882 |
| Productiveness | 1185 | 1031 | 755 |
| Creativity | 1411 | 1381 | 1029 |
| Responsiveness | 1310 | 1278 | 886 |
| Geekbench 5.1 (single-core) | 1536 | 1475 | 1240 |
| Geekbench 5.1 (multi-core) | 4735 | 4932 | 3523 |
| Geekbench 6 (single-core) | 1931 | 1400 | 991 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 4971 | 4789 | 2828 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 3488 | 2985 | 1903 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 20.9 | 17.9 | 11.45 |
For artificial workloads, I am pitting the Xiaomi 13 Professional in opposition to the Galaxy S23 Extremely and final 12 months’s Xiaomi 12 Professional. Proper off the bat, we will see that the Xiaomi 13 Professional has a good 15% enhance in Geekbench 5.1 single-core workloads over its predecessor, with that determine going as much as 35% for multi-core exams.
That is consistent with each day use, with the 13 Professional delivering considerably higher efficiency earlier than hitting its thermal restrict. In truth, I did not run into any cases of the gadget being throttled even after prolonged use, and that is right down to the tweaks Qualcomm made with this era.
The Galaxy S23 Extremely is ready to publish increased scores because it has an overclocked model of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, however in workloads that simulate real-world eventualities, the general scores are on par with the 13 Professional.
The most important change this 12 months needs to be gaming efficiency; like the remainder of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered gadgets, the Xiaomi 13 Professional delivers excellent figures on this space, and there is clearly greater than sufficient headroom for the longer term.
Rounding out the {hardware}, the Xiaomi 13 Professional has Wi-Fi 6e connectivity, and whereas there’s a Wi-Fi 7 modem as nicely, that is not enabled in the intervening time. You will discover Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, dual-band GPS, and the aforementioned IR blaster. The gadget misses out on mmWave connectivity, however it has a good set of Sub-6 5G bands for international protection.
The in-screen optical fingerprint sensor is quick to authenticate and is ideally positioned on the display in your thumb when you’re utilizing the gadget one-handed. There’s face unlock as nicely, however that is based mostly on software program, and subsequently not as safe as a PIN.
Xiaomi did a superb job with the haptic motor, and it delivers granular suggestions that makes utilizing the 13 Professional that rather more partaking. What I notably like is the extent of customization for the vibration engine. Total, there is not something lacking on the 13 Professional, and it’s on par with the greatest Android telephones.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Battery life
The Xiaomi 13 Professional has a barely bigger 4820mAh battery, and it makes use of the model’s customized S1 Surge controller to make sure the cellphone prices safely at 120W. There is not any battery nervousness in any way right here, and within the week I used the Xiaomi 13 Professional, I obtained to the tip of the day with at the least 25% left over. That is with heavy use that included 6.5 hours of screen-on-time unfold over the course of 18 hours, and as is the case with different 2023 flagships, the Xiaomi 13 Professional will simply final over a day with none points.
Like different Xiaomi telephones that use 120W charging tech, you will want to enter the settings to allow Increase charging to unlock the complete potential of the charging tech. Xiaomi disables this function out of the field because it may result in overheating, however the few occasions I charged with Increase mode enabled, the battery did not get noticeably scorching.
Even with the function disabled, you’ll absolutely cost the battery in simply 28 minutes, an achievement in and of itself. Switching on Increase mode reduces that determine to simply 24 minutes, so when you’re after bragging rights, you might need to go this route.
Whereas the ridiculously-fast occasions from zero to 100% are nice, what you will like extra is the truth that it takes simply over ten minutes for the battery to go as much as 50% — that makes a sizeable distinction in each day use. Fortunately, Xiaomi continues to bundle a 120W charger within the field, and it’s slightly cumbersome — it goes as much as 120W, in any case.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Cameras
Like final 12 months, the Xiaomi 13 Professional is rocking a trio of 50MP cameras on the again. Nonetheless, there are appreciable upgrades below the hood, with the principle 50MP digital camera now powered by Sony’s 1-inch f/1.9 IMX989 module with OIS. The 50MP telephoto lens can be new, providing 3x optical zoom with OIS.
The tele lens additionally will get the power to take pictures at a distance of simply 10cm, and as such Xiaomi makes use of this lens for taking macro images as an alternative of the wide-angle lens from final 12 months. The brand new modules together with Leica optics give the Xiaomi 13 Professional an enormous edge over its predecessor. The 50MP wide-angle lens is similar to final 12 months, with Xiaomi utilizing the identical f/2.2 module with a 115-degree subject of view.
The digital camera interface itself is unchanged, however one can find crimson accents in a nod to the Leica collaboration, just like what OnePlus does with Hasselblad. The Leica partnership provides an attention-grabbing dimension to the 13 Professional as it’s the first Xiaomi cellphone launching globally to make use of the German digital camera model’s tuning.
An enormous a part of that collaboration is the inclusion of two types — Leica Genuine and Leica Vibrant. You will want to select one whereas launching the digital camera for the primary time, however can change between the 2 from throughout the viewfinder. Leica Genuine produces true-to-life images, with Leica Vibrant delivering saturated pictures with vibrant colours that look nice — I went with the latter.
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The Xiaomi 13 Professional makes use of four-to-one pixel binning to provide 12.5MP pictures, and as you’d think about for a cellphone of this caliber, daylight pictures are unbelievable. You get glorious dynamic vary and good colour vibrancy, and though the pictures are usually a bit oversaturated at occasions, they appear nice. The digital camera does a fantastic job with foliage, and it does not easy out finer particulars.
The wide-angle lens does a fantastic job in daylight conditions as nicely, producing pictures with an analogous colour steadiness as the first lens. However what stands out this 12 months is the telephoto lens; it takes stellar images at as much as 3.2x zoom, and it does an impressive job as a macro shooter. Positive, it could have been good to see 10x optical zoom, and whereas the lens goes as much as 70x through digital zoom, it does not maintain a candle to the S23 Extremely and Pixel 7 Professional at 5x and 10x zoom, a lot much less 70x.
There’s a lot to love in low-light pictures as nicely, and the Xiaomi 13 Professional holds its personal in opposition to the likes of the Galaxy S22 Extremely, Pixel 7 Professional, and the Vivo X90 Professional. There’s glorious element rendition in difficult conditions, and the digital camera does a superb job managing highlights and minimizing noise ranges. The wide-angle and telephotos lenses additionally do a stellar job at evening, producing pictures with good dynamic vary and minimal noise.
The cellphone does a significantly better job with portrait pictures as nicely, delivering good bokeh and segmentation. I simply use a Pixel 7 Professional for taking portrait pictures of inanimate objects as different gadgets do not do nearly as good a job with segmentation, however the Xiaomi 13 Professional got here very shut.
Total, Xiaomi is onto a winner right here. The 13 Professional has one of the best total digital camera bundle of any Xiaomi cellphone I used to this point, and it goes toe-to-toe with one of the best that Samsung and Google have to supply.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Software program
The Xiaomi 13 Professional runs MIUI 14 based mostly on Android 13 out of the field. Xiaomi did not introduce too many new options in MIUI 14, with a lot of the tweaks targeted on under-the-hood optimization. As such, the interface itself is essentially similar to MIUI 13, so when you’re switching to the 13 Professional from an older Xiaomi gadget, you will really feel proper at residence right here.
Though the UI hasn’t modified, each day interactions really feel rather more fluid, and it lastly feels just like the software program is optimized to take full benefit of the {hardware}. There’s much less bloatware than earlier than, and whereas I obtained just a few push notifications to check out the varied Xiaomi companies bundled out of the field, it was straightforward sufficient to kind that out.
Xiaomi now makes use of an iOS-style Management Heart as normal, so that you get the toggles on one aspect and the notifications in a devoted pane. Fortunately, you possibly can go into the settings and change again to a unified notification pane. However with the model focusing its consideration on the Management Heart structure, the unified pane appears to be like a bit dated, and in contrast to different interfaces, you will not discover any Materials You thrives right here.
Whereas One UI 5 and ColorOS 13 have embraced some elements of Google’s Materials You aesthetic — just like the dynamic colour picker — Xiaomi has largely ignored the design language, and the result’s that MIUI 14 does not really feel as vibrant. One among my favourite issues to do on Android 13 is to change out the accent colours frequently, and that is not attainable right here.
The crux of the difficulty is that whereas different manufacturers are making optimistic strides in altering the look of their interfaces to swimsuit a world viewers — ColorOS has come a final approach within the final two years — MIUI nonetheless feels prefer it was constructed for a Chinese language viewers, with just a few extra extras for international markets. Xiaomi must make wholesale adjustments to the UI to deliver it to parity with its Chinese language rivals.
Elsewhere, the app drawer is unchanged in two years and is similar to MIUI 12, and Xiaomi does not allow you to disable Google companies like Gmail. I take advantage of Newton Mail on all my gadgets, so I are inclined to disable Gmail as I’ve no want of the service, however that is not possible right here, so I’ve to mute notifications as an alternative.
You continue to get a vertically-scrolling overview menu, however you possibly can change to a typical card-style structure within the settings.
I like the truth that Xiaomi made the interface extra fluid, however MIUI is in want of a redesign. On that observe, one other space the place Xiaomi is discovered missing is software program updates. The Xiaomi 13 Professional will get three assured Android updates together with 5 years of safety patches, and whereas that is good, it is lower than scratch in 2023.
Samsung, OnePlus, and OPPO now assure 4 Android OS updates, so when you decide up the Xiaomi 13 Professional, you will get one much less platform replace. Xiaomi must match its rivals on this regard, and whereas it is at it, the model must do a greater job rolling out software program updates on time. My Xiaomi 12 Professional made the change to Android 13 practically two months after the Galaxy S22 Extremely and Discover X5 Professional, and I do not see that altering with the 13 Professional.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: The competitors
The Galaxy S23 Extremely is the yardstick for flagship telephones in 2023, with Samsung providing essentially the most feature-rich bundle on Android. The cellphone has a chic AMOLED panel, the newest Qualcomm {hardware}, glorious battery life, and superb cameras. It does not miss out on a lot, however it’s unwieldy to make use of on account of its measurement. It’s significantly costlier than the Xiaomi 13 Professional in international markets, however the upside is that it’s going to decide up extra software program updates.
Vivo is doing a variety of attention-grabbing issues on this space, and the X90 Professional is an effective various to the Xiaomi 13 Professional. It does not have a QHD+ display, however it has highly effective {hardware} and takes fabulous images. An identical set of software program points plague Vivo, and the gadget will not get updates on time.
For those who want one of the best worth on this class, the OnePlus 11 is a strong alternative. The gadget has the newest Qualcomm silicon and an attention-grabbing design, and whereas the cameras aren’t fairly nearly as good as what Xiaomi is providing, it’s significantly extra reasonably priced.
Xiaomi 13 Professional: Must you purchase it?
You should purchase this if:
- You desire a flagship that takes excellent images and movies
- You want a tool that is simpler to carry and use than the S23 Extremely
- You are on the lookout for all-day battery life and ultra-fast charging
- You want all of the extras
You should not purchase this if:
- You need well timed software program updates
Barring just a few outliers, I used all of the telephones Xiaomi launched within the final 9 years, and the Xiaomi 13 Professional is the model’s greatest providing but. Positive, it is not as groundbreaking because the first-gen Mi MIX and will not promote anyplace as a lot because the Redmi Notice 5, however it’s a pivotal gadget within the context of Xiaomi’s ambitions within the high-end section.
Whereas an awesome majority of Xiaomi’s gross sales nonetheless come from the price range class, the model has more and more targeted on the premium section as a income driver, and the Xiaomi 13 Professional is a authentic various to the Galaxy S23 Extremely, Vivo X90 Professional, and the Pixel 7 Professional. Xiaomi nailed the design transient, and the cellphone does not miss out on any desk stakes options. The {hardware} is on par with the greatest Android telephones, the display is a pleasure to make use of, and also you get ultra-fast wired and wi-fi charging tech.
The cameras are among the many greatest you will discover on any cellphone as we speak, and whereas the software program does not really feel fairly as trendy as its instant rivals, it does not have any main drawbacks. If Xiaomi performs its playing cards proper in key markets like India, it has the potential to lastly make first rate inroads within the flagship class.
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