XIAOMI 13: TWO-MINUTE REVIEW

The Xiaomi 13 arrives as the successor to the company’s 2022 flagship – the Xiaomi 12 – and stays true to its predecessor’s philosophy: premium performance in a compact package. 

Beyond a marginal size increase, the phone’s display is largely unchanged, but Xiaomi’s knack for brightness and vivid colors is here delivered in a much sleeker, almost iPhone-like body, which lands the Xiaomi 13 in the ‘handsome’ camp of today’s best Android phones.

Granted, the Xiaomi 13 offers almost no originality on the design front beyond its Leica-branded camera setup (more on this below), but if, like me, you’re a sucker for Apple’s straight-sided aesthetic, then this phone’s unashamed resemblance to the best iPhones is a positive rather than a negative. 

The Xiaomi 13’s impressive speeds are made possible by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset – similar to the processor you’ll find powering Samsung’s newly-released Samsung Galaxy S23 line – and the device is offered in two memory variations: 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, paired with 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage (though, if you’re in the UK, you’re looking at the 8GB version only). 

The phone’s 4,500mAh battery remains unchanged from the Xiaomi 12 – meaning you still get at least one whole day’s juice on a single charge – and the latter’s 67W wired charging, 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging capabilities are carried over, too. 

On paper, the biggest difference between the Xiaomi 13 and its predecessor is the former’s Leica-branded camera array. Comprising a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter with OIS (optical image stabilization), a 10MP f/2.0 telephoto camera with 3.2x optical zoom, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide sensor, the Xiaomi 13’s camera setup makes the phone a much more versatile beast for photographers; primarily because Xiaomi’s Leica partnership allows for two distinct shooting modes: Vibrant and Authentic. The former makes colors look brighter and more saturated, while the latter replicates the original Leica look by encouraging bolder contrast and a greater dynamic range, which proves a nice differentiator between this and other Android phones. 

If you’re looking for one of the very best camera phones, though, the Xiaomi 13 still doesn’t hold a candle to the photography performance offered by its Pro-grade sibling – the Xiaomi 13 Pro – or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro. 

The bottom line is this: the Xiaomi 13 is an excellent flagship option for Android fans with a soft spot for Apple’s design philosophy. It doesn’t beat the competition in any one area, but Xiaomi’s latest premium offering still delivers almost everything you could want from a smartphone to an extremely high standard.

For those looking to spend a little more money, our hands-on Xiaomi 13 Pro review may shed some light on whether the jump up to Xiaomi’s even-more premium photography-focused handset is worth it.

XIAOMI 13 REVIEW: DESIGN

• iPhone 14-like straight-sided design is a great size
• Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection
• Nice color options internationally

Xiaomi has opted for a decidedly -like design with the Xiaomi 13, which is by no means a criticism (if you’re an iPhone fan, that is). 

Coming in at 71.5 x 152.8 x 8mm and weighing 185g, the phone sports a glossy, straight-edged aluminum body that’s more conservative than boundary-pushing, but it feels great in the hand, and its size – for me, at least – hits a rare sweet spot between being comfortable to navigate and large enough to look impressive. For reference, the Xiaomi 13 sits halfway between the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus (and therefore the S22 and S22 Plus) in terms of size, almost to the millimeter.

Internationally, the Xiaomi 13 is available in three standard colors: black, white and Flora Green. In China, the company has also produced a gray and a light blue version, as well as limited edition iterations in more eye-catching red, green, yellow and blue finishes. As mentioned, though, the phone is only available in black in the UK.