What you need to know
- Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Note 13 series in China, with sales kicking off in the country next week.
- There are three models in the series: Redmi Note 13, Note 13 Pro, and the Note 13 Pro+.
- The Note 13 Pro+ gets a bulk of the key upgrades this time, including Dimensity 7200 Ultra and IP68 water resistance.
The Redmi Notes series used to be focused on the entry-level segment, but that hasn't been the case with the previous two launches. The series now targets the budget category with the base model, with the Pro variants clearly going after the likes of the Galaxy A54 in the mid-range segment.
That hasn't changed with the Redmi Note 13 series. Now official in China (via GSMArena), Xiaomi's latest mid-range offerings have a lot going for them — both on the design and hardware side of things — and as usual, most of the upgrades are limited to the Redmi Note 13 Pro+. So that's where I'll focus a bulk of the attention.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ has a new design that looks sleek, but what's particularly great is the new leather back that features four different colors — it looks pretty distinctive, and the lack of a camera island makes the design look that much more clean. If you're not a fan of leather, Xiaomi is also offering the device with a standard glass back.
The big differentiator for the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is that it has IP68 dust and water resistance. Xiaomi was working its way up to doing so, with the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ featuring IP53. With the switch to IP68, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is on par with the Galaxy A54, and it makes the device that much more resistant to the elements.
Up front, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ has a curved 6.67-inch OLED panel with 120Hz refresh, Dolby Vision, 1,800 nits, and a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus. On the hardware front, the device is powered by the latest Dimensity 7200 Ultra, and it should give it a sizeable advantage over the Note 12 Pro+. Xiaomi is also offering 12GB of RAM as standard this time, and 256GB of storage with the base model. There's also a 16GB/512GB variant of the device.
The cameras are unchanged from last year, and include the 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP3, 8MP wide-angle, and the 2MP macro lens that still serves little to no utility. Battery is also unchanged at 5000mAh, and you get the same 120W charging tech. Software has been a contentious issue with these devices as they debut just as a new version of Android is on the horizon, and predictably, the Note 13 Pro+ runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13, with no mention of when it will switch to Android 14.
I'll share a quick overview of the rest of the models. The Redmi Note 13 doesn't feel like much of an upgrade, and while it has a 100MP camera at the back, the switch to Dimensity 1080 means it now runs even older Cortex A78 cores (the Note 12 had A78). You also get 6GB of RAM as standard now (instead of 4GB), but the rest of the hardware is unchanged to the Note 12: there's a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel, 128GB of storage, and 5000mAh battery with 33W charging.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro is a better deal, and it features the same 200MP camera as the Pro+, and the same OLED panel. It starts off at 8GB/128GB and goes up to 16GB/512GB, and it's powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, so it should be faster than last year's model. It has a larger 5100mAh battery and retains 67W charging, but it misses out on Wi-Fi 6.
The Redmi Note and Note 13 Pro don't have any ingress protection, with that feature limited to the Note 13 Pro+. The Note 12 Pro was the ideal choice in the Redmi Note series as it had a good mix of features and value, but with the latest launches, the Note 13 Pro+ is the way to go — it has the potential to be among the best Xiaomi phones of 2024.
As for what these phones cost, the Redmi Note 13 starts off at 1,099 RMB ($150), with the Note 13 Pro debuting at 1,399 RMB ($192) and the Note 13 Pro+ going up for sale at 2,299 RMB ($315). Sales kick off in China starting next week, and there's no mention when these devices will debut in global markets. That said, it is likely we'll have to wait until the end of the year or early Q1 to see these models in India, U.K., and other key regions.
