Xiaomi 13T Pro Review: Leica Pro Camera Phone Worth Buying?

The Xiaomi 13T Pro review can help decide if the new flagship from Xiaomi is up to the expectations. It was announced on September 26, 2023. Which marked the introduction of another 50MP Leica camera phone contender from Xiaomi. The Mi 13T Pro embodies a blend of high-end performance and innovative features. Also, a competitive price point that appeals to tech-savvy consumers. As it is cheaper than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung S23 Ultra, and Pixel 8 Pro, it is highly competitive. This review delves into the Xiaomi 13T Pro specs and features. Evaluating its design, performance, camera capabilities, battery life, display quality, and overall value. All in comparison to its high-end competitors.

Xiaomi 13T Pro Features Quick View
Network	GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
Display	AMOLED, 144Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
Processor	Mediatek Dimensity 9200+
Memory	Up to 1TB storage and 16GB RAM
Main Camera	Triple – 50MP, 50MP, 12MP, Leica Professional Camera
Selfie Camera	20MP
Battery	5000 mAh with 120W charging
OS	Android 13, MIUI 14
Build	Glass front and back, or vegan leather back
Other Features	IP68 dust/water resistance, under-display fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers

 

Xiaomi 13T Pro 5G: Choose Your Variant!

	Price:	$799 for 12GB/256GB	$899 for 12GB/512GB	$999 for 16GB/1TB
	Buy at AliExpress

Xiaomi 13T Pro Review: Unboxing

The Xiaomi 13T Pro unboxing experience is straightforward. The phone comes in a thick paper box, differing from the minimal packaging of other brands like Apple, Samsung, and Sony. Unboxing, the phone is the first thing you see, with a thin protective film already applied to its screen.

Further inside, the paper compartment holds a transparent soft case and some paperwork. At the bottom of the box, there’s a 120W GaN charging brick and a USB-A-to-C cable ready to charge the phone.

The Design

The Xiaomi 13T Pro 5G and its sibling, Xiaomi 13T 5G, exudes a sleek aesthetic charm. Each coming in two distinct styles. It has a classy dual-glass format or a glass front paired with a vegan leather back. The color variations include the elegant Alpine Blue and a sophisticated Black. Thus, it shows a blend of modernity and elegance in design.

Both Xiaomi 13T Pro 5G variants have plastic frames that harmonize well with the look. It sports a metallic finish that adds a touch of class. The glass version shines in either Meadow Green or Black. While the Alpine Blue variant captivates with its blue vegan leather back panel.

The Xiaomi 13T Pro design and build manifest a flat front panel fortified with Gorilla Glass 5. It transitions into a flat frame with a matte finish. The frame houses subtle chamfers, enhancing the grip and contributing to a refined appearance. The rear panel subtly curves along the longer sides towards the frame, rendering a slim profile to the Mi 13T Pro. A notable advancement is the IP68 certification for dust and water resistance awarded to the Xiaomi 13T series, marking a significant leap towards durability and resilience.

Xiaomi 13T Pro Build Quality

Despite its mainstream smartphone status, the Xiaomi 13T Pro doesn’t shy away from showcasing a premium feel. The front has a 6.67-inch OLED display, aptly named CrystalRes by Xiaomi, probably a nod to its high resolution of 1,220 x 2,712 pixels. This display is a treasure trove of high-end features. That includes a dynamic 144Hz refresh rate, 12-bit color depth, and 480Hz touch sampling. There is 2880Hz PWM dimming with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.

The bezels surrounding the OLED are reasonably thin, providing a near-borderless visual experience. At the top, a punch hole hosts a 20MP Quad-Bayer selfie camera. It is one of the smallest punch holes seen in recent times.

Two key features remain hidden from view – the razor-thin outlet for the earpiece and the under-display fingerprint scanner, which performs reliably and swiftly. The Alpine Blue model, in particular, is a visual delight with its back panel. The vegan leather provides a pleasant tactile experience, and the light blue hue is absolutely mesmerizing. The camera housing, a significant highlight, protrudes noticeably but is resolved with the included case to prevent wobbling on flat surfaces. It houses a 50MP Leica primary camera, a 50MP telephoto lens, and a 12MP ultrawide lens, alongside a single-LED flash, all encased in a glass cover with a square shape and black plastic framing.

Size and Handling

The frame is made of plastic but exudes a metallic vibe with its brushed finish. It boards the volume and power/lock keys on the right. While the left remains unoccupied. At the top, the Xiaomi 13T Pro features an IR blaster, a microphone, and an outlet for one of the stereo speakers. The bottom has other stereo speaker with the USB-C port, the primary microphone, and the SIM tray.

Measuring 162.2 x 75.7 x 8.5 mm and weighing between 200g and 206g based on the back material, the Xiaomi 13T Pro aligns well with other phones of similar specifications and screen size. Handling the Xiaomi 13T Pro 5G over an extended period revealed no issues. Its solid build, secure grip, and balanced feel, despite the large camera housing, were impressive. The waterproof feature is a welcome addition, offering peace of mind during rainy days or near water bodies.

Xiaomi 13T Pro Review for Performance 

At the core of the 13T Pro lies the potent Mediatek Dimensity 9200+ chipset, coupled with up to 16GB of RAM. These specifications promise a seamless user experience, whether you’re gaming, streaming, or multitasking. The Xiaomi 13T Pro features an octa-core CPU setup which includes a powerful Cortex-X3 core clocked at 3.35 GHz, ensuring speedy performance across a variety of tasks. The phone also flaunts a capable GPU, the Immortalis-G715 MC11, which handles graphic-intensive applications with ease.

In this segment of the Xiaomi 13T Pro review, the spotlight is on the phone’s performance which is driven by the Dimensity 9200+ chipset. This powerhouse is comparable to the revered Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, placing the Xiaomi 13T Pro among the highly capable devices in the smartphone market today. Gaming, even in High Frame Rate modes, is a seamless experience, showcasing the fluidity the phone can deliver.

Xiaomi has also taken the thermal aspect seriously, assuring a cool operational state even during intensive use, thanks to a well-engineered cooling system. Our conducted stress tests affirm this promise.

Can it handle the stress?

Initially, the CPU stress test was carried out for an hour, revealing an admirable stability score of 77%. Even after an hour of peak load operation, the phone only warmed up slightly, avoiding any discomforting heat.

Following that, the 3D Mark stress test was conducted, comprising 20 loops of a 1-minute GPU-intensive routine. The GPU held up at 100% speed for the first 15 minutes, after which the performance moderately declined to 67%. This score is quite noteworthy, especially when juxtaposed with certain flagship models that hover around 40%. Throughout this testing phase, the phone maintained a warm status, avoiding any transition to a hot state. This aspect of the Xiaomi 13T Pro review underscores the effective cooling system of the phone, and its adeptness at sustaining commendable performance even under demanding scenarios.

Camera

The Xiaomi 13T Pro camera setup is a photographer’s delight. With a triple camera arrangement, it offers a versatile photography experience. The primary and telephoto lenses both have a resolution of 50 MP, capturing crisp and detailed images. The 12 MP ultrawide lens allows for expansive shots, ideal for landscape photography. The Xiaomi 13T Pro review shows it also offers impressive video recording capabilities, allowing users to record 8K videos at 24 fps and 4K videos at up to 60 fps. The Leica lens further enhances the image and video quality, providing vibrant colors and sharp contrasts.

In this Xiaomi 13T Pro review, we delve into the Leica camera specifications and performance, a crucial aspect for modern users. The Leica camera setup on the Xiaomi 13T Pro is quite professional, featuring multiple lenses and sensors to cater to various photography needs.

The main Leica camera has a 50MP Sony IMX 707 sensor with a 24mm f/1.9 stabilized 7-element lens, ensuring crisp and clear images. This is complemented by a 50MP telephoto camera providing a 2x optical zoom, and a 13MP ultrawide camera capturing broader scenes. The selfie camera, however, falls short of expectations with a 20MP sensor, which could have been better in terms of detail capture.

Camera Performance

On firing up the camera app, you’ll notice a red accent. A nod to the Leica collaboration, that also extends to processing modes named Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic. The latter is for those who prefer more color-accurate images. While the former provides a punchier, vibrant look to the photos. The camera app also offers a ‘Teleprompter Video mode,’ allowing users to paste and read a script while recording, a handy feature for content creators.

The Xiaomi 13T Pro review also highlights a strong Portrait mode offering a range of effects and shooting options, including a unique Swirly Bokeh and 90mm Soft Focus for artistic portraits. However, the lack of a Macro mode might disappoint those who love close-up shots, although the primary camera’s ability to focus from a close distance somewhat compensates for this.

The low-light photography on the Xiaomi 13T Pro is commendable. The Auto Night Mode ensures that the images are well-exposed with minimal noise. Both the main Leica and telephoto cameras perform impressively in low-light conditions, capturing a good amount of detail with excellent color saturation.

In conclusion, the Xiaomi 13T Pro’s camera setup is quite impressive, offering a range of features and modes for both photography enthusiasts and casual users. However, the selfie camera could use some improvement to stand in line with the otherwise robust camera setup.

Battery Life 

The 13T Pro has a 5000 mAh battery. So, the phone stays alive through a busy day. One of the Xiaomi 13T Pro features that stand out is its remarkable 120W wired charging capability, which can juice up the phone to 100% in just 19 minutes as advertised. This rapid charging technology places the Xiaomi 13T Pro ahead of many competitors, providing a significant convenience for users on the go.

Feature	Xiaomi 13T Pro
Battery Capacity	5000 mAh
Wired Charging Speed	120W
Charging Time (0 to 100%)	19 minutes

The Xiaomi 13T Pro battery life presents a commendable endurance with a rating of 102 hours. However, when it comes to on-screen activities, the performance is quite average – managing around 13 hours in web browsing and 15 hours in video playback. Remarkably, it can sustain over a day with call activities.

Xiaomi 13T Pro Battery Performance

The Xiaomi 13T Pro battery performance in standby mode is outstanding, clocking in at about 370 hours. This significantly contributes to its overall endurance rating surpassing 100 hours. Though when pitted against the Xiaomi 13 Pro, it falls short in all test categories, but it shows a slight improvement in almost every aspect when compared to the 12T Pro.

Unique to 120W-capable Xiaomi phones, the Xiaomi 13T Pro features a Boost Charge mode. This mode facilitates rapid charging at 120W, but only when the screen is turned off to prevent overheating. This feature isn’t activated by default but can be enabled from the Battery settings.

Our charging test was conducted with the Boost mode activated, since without it, the phone’s charging capacity is restricted to between 60W-80W.

Pairing the Xiaomi 13T Pro with its 120W charger proved to be an efficient duo. Within a mere 5 minutes, the battery level soared to 33%. The charging pace continued impressively, reaching 51% in 10 minutes and 68% in 15 minutes. Achieving a full charge took 26 minutes, which is slightly longer than the 19 minutes claimed by Xiaomi.

Display

The 13T Pro review shows it comes with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display, offering vibrant colors and sharp visuals. With a refresh rate of 144Hz, the Xiaomi 13T Pro specs ensure a smooth user experience whether browsing, gaming, or watching videos. The high resolution of 1220 x 2712 pixels delivers crisp imagery. While the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support enhance the viewing experience with better contrast and dynamic range. It offers five distinct refresh rate options – 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz.

The adaptive refresh rate functionality is efficient, dialing down to 60Hz when displaying static content. Similarly, streaming apps have their UI and streaming capped at 60Hz. Certain apps that don’t support High Frame Rate (HFR), like the Camera app and Google Maps, operate at a fixed 60fps. The 30Hz refresh rate is specifically utilized for the Always-on Display feature.

Even though the 144Hz refresh rate wasn’t observed across the UI, it was evident in several games, benchmarks, and HFR compatible apps, enhancing the visual experience. On the HDR and streaming front, the Xiaomi 13T Pro is equipped with Widevine L1 DRM support. This allows for Full HD streaming alongside HDR10 and Dolby Vision support on various platforms, including Netflix, enriching the streaming quality.

What about the speakers and audio?

The Xiaomi 13T Pro has a traditional hybrid stereo speaker setup of the new variety. It has the two pieces placed on its top and bottom sides behind dedicated grilles. The top speaker also acts as an earpiece, and that’s why it has another front-facing outlet. The top speaker is much quieter than the bottom and focuses mostly on high frequencies. But since it has two outlets – the Xiaomi 13T Pro delivers balanced audio output. The speakers support Dolby Atmos enhancement, and it’s ON by default.

The Xiaomi 13T Pro scored a Good mark on our loudness test. The sound quality is also good – the vocals are great, there is some minor bass presence, while the high frequencies could have been richer. Turning OFF the Dolby Atmos makes a little difference – it offers slightly richer but less balanced output.

Xiaomi 13T Pro Additional Features

Aside from the core functionalities, the Xiaomi 13T Pro is packed with additional features that enhance usability and security. The under-display fingerprint sensor provides a secure and convenient method for unlocking the device.

Additionally, the Xiaomi phone comes with an array of connectivity options including 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4, and NFC, ensuring you stay connected wherever you go. The Xiaomi 13T Pro also offers a range of storage options, with up to 1TB of internal storage and 16GB of RAM, catering to varying user needs for space and performance.

Comparative Analysis

The Xiaomi 13T Pro finds itself in a competitive market with high-end contenders like the Google Pixel 8 Pro and the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. A comparative glance at these smartphones reveals that each has its unique strengths.

Feature	Xiaomi 13T Pro	Google Pixel 8 Pro	Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Price	$802 / € 895.00 / £ 699.00	$ 999.00 / € 1,099.00 / £ 759.00	$ 1,199.99

The 13T Pro phone offers a balanced blend of features at a relatively lower price point compared to its competitors. Its performance, camera capabilities, and rapid charging technology make it a compelling choice for users seeking premium features without a hefty price tag. On the other hand, the Google Pixel 8 Pro and Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max come with their own set of advantages. Including brand reputation and superior camera systems, which justify their higher price tags.

User Experiences 

The Xiaomi 13T Pro has been well-received by users. Especially those who appreciate the excellent performance, high-quality display, and better battery life with rapid charging. The Leica camera system, with its versatile lens setup and impressive video recording capabilities, is particularly praised by photography enthusiasts. However, some users noted that the device could get quite warm during extended usage, and the absence of a 3.5mm headphone jack was a downside for some.

Xiaomi 13TPro: Choose Your Variant!

	Price:	$799 for 12GB/256GB	$899 for 12GB/512GB	$999 for 16GB/1TB
	Buy at AliExpress

The Verdict

The 13T Pro with its Leica camera system emerges as a strong contender in the premium smartphone segment. It provides a slew of high-end features at a competitive price point. Its performance, display quality, battery life, and camera setup make it a well-rounded choice for a wide range of users. While it does have minor drawbacks such as the absence of a headphone jack and heating issues during intensive use. However, the positives overwhelmingly overshadow the negatives. However, the Xiaomi 13T starting at $649 price for 8GB/256GB standard and offering almost the same features with a professional Leica camera, is worth a consideration.

The 13T Pro finds a sweet spot between affordability and premium features. Making it an attractive choice for those looking to own a high-end smartphone without burning a hole in their pocket. This Xiaomi 13T Pro review presents it as a worthy option. It is for those seeking a balance between cost, performance, and features in a smartphone at value. The Xiaomi 13T Pro price starts at $799 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

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