Xiaomi 13 Pro Phone Review

Xiaomi has a new flagship smartphone they're currently telling the World about and with the Leica brand on-board, a new Sony sensor and an impressive line-up of camera features, they could be onto a winning combination. Shall we find out if they can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Apple and Samsung?

Xiaomi 13 Pro Features

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a premium smartphone that features another premium name - Leica. The collaboration brings the Leica Vario-Summicron lens, a Leica Master-lens filter system for portraits and two main shooting modes: Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant. Another name linked with the phone is 'Sony' as a Sony 50MP 1-inch IMX989 sensor is built in.  

A triple rear camera set-up consists of a wide, telephoto and ultra-wide with various shooting modes, digital filters and a Pro mode built in. For selfie fans, there's a 32MP camera cutout of the 6.7-inch display. 

Other features include a 4820mAh battery, 12GB RAM and 512GB ROM, IP68 rating and a headphone jack. 

Xiaomi 13 Pro Specs:

• 50.3MP f/1.9 23mm (wide) with PDAF, LAF and OIS
• 50MP f/2.0 75mm (telephoto) with PDAF and 3.2x optical zoom
• 50MP f/2.2 14mm (ultrawide) with AF
• 32MP selfie camera
• Up to 3.2X digital zoom 
• 6.7-inch display
• 4820mAh battery
• IP68 rating 
• Dimensions: 162.9mm x 74.6mm x 8.7mm
• Weight: 229g

Xiaomi 13 Pro Handling

When you pick up the Xiaomi 13 Pro you will instantly notice how weighty it feels (229g) and considering the large camera unit on the back, it feels surprisingly well-balanced in the hand and curved edges make it comfortable to hold. Some will say the weightiness emphasises the premium feel of the smartphone and we get that but it is very noticeable. You also have a metal frame, Ceramic back and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus front confirming this is a premium smartphone ready to take on the popular big brands.  The Ceramic finish is lovely but fingerprints ruin the look so if this sort of thing annoys you as much as it does us, pop it in the provided plastic case. 

A pre-fitted screen protector should keep the 6.73-inch display scratch-free but with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on board, it should be much more resistant to this sort of thing anyway. The display is sharp, vibrant and colours are accurate. A 32MP selfie camera is cut out top-centre and edges curve nicely away with minimal bezels. 

Buttons are found on the right side of the aluminium frame and on the base is a USB-C port, speaker and SIM tray. Surprisingly, there's a headphone jack on top of the phone which will please some. 

Turn the smartphone over and as already mentioned, you find a rather large camera housing that forms nicely from the ceramic back. The Leica name is found on the camera unit which is home to an ultra-wide, wide and telephoto camera set-up and there's also an LED flash. 

The camera unit is home to a 50.3MP f/1.9 23mm (wide) camera with Dual Pixel Phase Detection Auto Focus, Laser Auto Focus and Optical Image Stabilisation which is supported by a 50MP f/2.0 75mm (telephoto) with Phase Detection Auto Focus and 3.2x optical zoom and then there's a 50MP f/2.2 14mm (ultrawide) camera featuring Auto Focus. It's an impressive line-up of technology that's backed by the premium Leica brand name which should grab the interest of those familiar with the company. 

Plenty of modes are built in which include Photo, Video, Portrait, Night, 50MP, Panorama, Long exposure and Supermoon. You also have access to a Pro mode where you can capture RAW photos in a variety of resolutions depending on which camera you are using. The Pro mode will take some playing around with to get the most out of it but you can capture some excellent results when you get to grips with it. 

Video is captured at various frame rates at 8K, 4K and 180p with the help of gyro-EIS. 

The IP68 dust/water-resistance rating will mean an accidental drop in water shouldn't cause damage. 

Camera Specs:

• 50.3MP f/1.9 23mm (wide) with PDAF, LAF and OIS
• 50MP f/2.0 75mm (telephoto) with PDAF and 3.2x optical zoom
• 50MP f/2.2 14mm (ultrawide) with AF
• 32MP selfie camera

Battery life -  The 4820mAh battery is slightly smaller than the 5000mAh options we've seen in other smartphones of late but it will easily last for a full day's use.