Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro announced with SD 8 Gen 2, new Leica cameras

Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro announced with SD 8 Gen 2, new Leica cameras

Xiaomi has just announced its latest flagship series – the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro. Both handsets run on Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset based on TSMC’s 4nm manufacturing process. Perhaps most importantly, both devices offer a substantial upgrade in the camera department and flaunt a new design. They are only launching in China, but we expect them to be released soon enough globally.

Xiaomi 13 Pro

For all intents and purposes, the display of the Xiaomi 13 Pro remains unchanged. The Xiaomi 12 Pro had a 6.73-inch display, and we got the same with nearly identical specs. These include a 120Hz variable refresh rate since it’s an LTPO panel, 1440 x 3200px resolution, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG and 1920Hz DC dimming against aggressive PWM. The display also has an ambient color temperature sensor that allows it to adjust color temperature on the fly.

The only upgrade here is the advertised max and maximum brightness. The new 13 Pro’s display can illuminate the entire surface at 1,200 nits, while the peak brightness boost during HDR video playback, for example, can hit 1,900 nits.

The aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is paired with LPDDR5X memory and next-gen UFS 4.0 storage.

As for the cameras, the Xiaomi 13 Pro again has a triple 50MP setup on the back, but with noticeable improvements. The famous 1-inch, 1.6 µm Sony IMX989 sensor of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is now paired with a Leica-branded lens with an f/1.9 aperture and Hyper OIS.

The telephoto lens also gets a solid upgrade. It’s still 50MP but with an extra 3x zoom reach and a Leica floating lens element, but with a slightly smaller f/2.0 aperture. Most interesting is that it has a close focusing distance of only 10cm.

The ultrawide doesn’t have fancy new technology – it’s the good old 50MP, f/2.2, 14mm with macro support, which means AF is on the menu too.

The battery gets a slight bump to 4,820mAh and is paired with Xiaomi’s Surge G1 chip allowing safe 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. There’s also the usual 10W reverse wireless charging. Nothing new here.

Other features include Dolby Atmos tuned stereo speakers with Dolby’s new head-tracking feature, an IR blaster and, of course, IP68 dust and water protection, which is a new addition to the Xiaomi’s mainstream flagship series.

Xiaomi 13 Pro in all colors

The device comes in four paint jobs on the ceramic back – white, black, green and a kind of light blue, which is a leather iteration and not a ceramic one. The camera island is now square with oval corners.

Xiaomi 13

The Xiaomi 13’s screen is now slightly larger, measuring 6.36″ diagonally and has essentially the same specs as before – 1080 x 2400px resolution, 120Hz refresh rate (no granular controls available as this isn’t available). is not LTPO), Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG support and is aided by an ambient color temperature sensor. respectively.

The camera setup on the back also gets the Leica treatment on all its cameras. The main unit is 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0µm and Hyper OIS. More importantly, we now have a good telephoto lens on board, which was the main drawback of the Xiaomi 12. It There’s a 10MP OIS assisted camera with a Leica lens, f/2.0 aperture and native 3x zoom Ultrawide is now 12MP with an f/2.2 aperture, likely without autofocus support .

The battery configuration is also the same – a 4,500mAh cell capable of 67W fast wired charging, 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.

Bonus features of the Xiaomi 13 also include Dolby Atmos stereo speakers with Dolby Head Tracking, an IR blaster, and IP68 water and dust certification.

Xiaomi 13 main colors

Unlike the Pro, the vanilla version makes do with a standard glass on the back and is available in black, light green, light blue, gray and white. Additional flashy colors are also available – red, yellow, green and blue, but only the Light Blue option is leather, just like the Pre. And while the rear camera island design is identical to the 13 Pro, the vanilla 13 stands out with a flat, glossy side bezel with iPhone-esque vibes.