The Xiaomi 13 series is now live globally. Arrives today in the Philippines

Leica cameras are just far too expensive even for Xiaomi to maintain

Just a day before the start of MWC 2023, Xiaomi unveiled their flagship 13 series to the world. It initially launched first in China and, just like the previous series, featured Leica cameras. The phones also got a design overhaul. Also, the 13 Ultra may be coming globally, but sadly, not in the Philippines.

Xiaomi 13

The Xiaomi 13 continues on with the previous 12S series featuring Leica-enhanced cameras. It also came in a newer design. The phone is flagship all throughout and features a very bright (yet also quite the burning sensation) 1900-nit 6.36in. FullHD+ (2400x1080px) flat Samsung E6 AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ support which delivers colour-accurate imagery and sharp and crispy delivery.

Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The chipset is a massive upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 thanks to its support with UFS 4.0 and LPDDR5X RAM. The former has significantly faster read/write speeds over UFS 3.1 and the latter has better performance output. The phone comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage and of course, with no way to expand it.

Now, this is where it gets juicy. The CAMERA SYSTEM! If you could recall, after Huawei broke up with Leica, Xiaomi took their offering and announced a strategic partnership. This came into effect after the 12S Ultra was launched. Subsequent units followed suit.

Just like with Huawei, Leica is offering their ‘True Colour Imaging’ and their popular lenses. Specifically for the 13 Series, the 75mm telephoto lenses. The ‘True Colour Imaging’ enhances the colour accuracy of each photo taken using AI algorithms which are tuned by Leica themselves.

The primary camera uses a Sony IMX800 sensor. The second phone to use such a sensor since the Honor 70. The others include the aforementioned 75mm telephoto lens which adopts a 10MP unit (f/2.0, 1.0µm, 1/3.75″, 75mm, OIS), and the 12MP Ultrawide (f/2.2, 1.12µm, 1/3.06″, 15mm). All of these lenses are Leica-tuned. The front camera utilizes a 32MP sensor.

The phone features a 4500mAh battery supplied with 67W fast charging. Battery conservation is handled by the Surge battery chip integrated with the phone. According to Xiaomi, this charging tech can charge an empty battery to full in just 38 minutes. The phone also features 50W of fast wireless charging and also comes with a 67W charging brick. Guess the talk about removing chargers from the box thankfully did not push through to several companies.

The phone has Dolby Atmos inside that enhances the sound experience. It also features an IR Blaster to control appliances. It boots with MIUI 14 based on Android 13. This version of MIUI is a sidegrade and comprised mostly of reducing the number of baked-in apps and further improves app usage by monitoring the apps and killing those that are left unused. The phone, as a flagship, also features an IP68 water/dust resistance rating.

In the Philippines, the phones cost at a somewhat expensive amount of Php 44,999. It’s only about to get more expensive from here.

Source: Xiaomi

SPECS:

• 6.36in. FullHD+ (2400x1080px) Samsung E6 AMOLED, 120Hz AdaptiveSync Refresh Rate, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HLG, 1900nits (peak brightness)
  • IP68 water/dust resistance
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, 1.0µm, 23mm, 7P Lens, OIS
  • 10MP (Telephoto), f/2.0, 1.0µm, 1/3.75″, 75mm, OIS
  • 12MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 1.12µm, 1/3.06″, 15mm
  • FRONT: 32MP, f/2.0
  • Leica Vario-Summicron 1:1.8-2.2/15-75mm ASPH Lens
  • Leica True Colour Imaging
• MIUI 14 based on Android 13
• 4500mAh, 67W fast charging
  • 50W Fast Wireless charging
  • Xiaomi Surge battery management chip
• USB-C, IR Blaster, in-display fingerprint scanner, Dual Nano-SIM Slot
• 5G services, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 7, NFC
• White, Black, Flora Green
• 8/256: Php 44,999

XIAOMI 13 PRO

The Pro version takes the cake between these two flagships. It continues on where the Xiaomi 12S Ultra left off, including the 1″ Leica sensor.

As the name suggests (this one is definitely more “Pro” than other “Pro” phones), the phone is a heightened version of the vanilla flagship. It sports a 6.73″ WQHD+ curved Samsung E6 AMOLED screen (3200x1440px) complete with 120Hz AdaptiveSync refresh rate and 1900nits peak brightness. Everything flagship in the package. It also sports an IP68 rating so dropping it in the water will not fry its internals.

Like the 13, the 13 Pro uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. This time, it is paired with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 internal storage. We suspect that both of these phones have a sort of cooling system inside.

Its cameras are all Leica-tuned but what makes this phone different is the large sensor size. As some of you may already know, a larger sensor means higher-quality pictures because more light could enter those sensors to be processed. The primary camera is a 50MP Sony IMX989. The same 1″ sensor seen on the 12S Ultra. There are two other 50MP sensors. The first is the ultrawide camera that was adapted from the Xiaomi 12 Pro. Finally, there’s also the telephoto camera with OIS. This telephoto camera is different from the rest because it is tuned with Leica’s Floating Lens tech and can zoom 3x farther than its predecessor, the 12 Pro.

The battery here is unhinged from the previous phone. It is a 4820mAh battery with 120W fast charging. This ridiculously fast Wattage has more power than most laptops and can charge the phone within 24 minutes to full. Talk about insane. This battery is managed by the Surge battery chip and also has support for 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.

Like the 13, this phone sports an IR Blaster to control appliances. Of course, it has 5G services and runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13. This phone’s price will shock you (it’s Php 59,999) which is thankfully still cheaper than Europe’s prices. Colour choices include White and Black made with a ceramic material. Shame we didn’t get the colourful versions found in China.

Source: Xiaomi

SPECS:

• 6.73″ WQHD+ (3200x1440px) AMOLED, 120Hz AdaptiveSync Refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
  • IP68 water/dust resistance
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.9, 1.6µm, 1″, OIS
  • 50MP (Telephoto), f/2.0, 75mm, 3x optical zoom, Leica Floating Lens, OIS
  • 50MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 115° FOV, 14mm, AF (with 5cm macro)
  • FRONT: 32MP, f/2.0, 0.7µm, 89.6° FOV, Dynamic Framing (0.8x or 1x)
  • Leica Vario-Summicron 1:1.8-2.2/15-75mm ASPH Lens
  • Leica True Colour Imaging
• MIUI 14 based on Android 13
• 4820mAh, 120W fast charging (0-100% in 24 minutes; advertised, standard mode)
  • 50W Wireless Charging
  • 10W Reverse Wireless Charging
  • 120W Charger in-box
• USB-C, Stereo Speakers, Dolby Atmos, In-display fingerprint scanner, IR Blaster
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, Hi-Res Audio, NFC
• Ceramic White, Ceramic Black
• PRICE:
  • 12/256: Php 59,999