ICYMI: The Redmi Note 13 Series is Available in China… and They are Busted as Hell.


IP68 on a midrange. So okay, how do you distinct flagships now?

Xiaomi unveiled the long-awaited Redmi Note 13 series which includes the Redmi Note 13, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Plus. All of these phones possess 5G technology but knowing Xiaomi spreading to literally every type of market possible, it won’t surprise us if ever they plan to release a 4G version of these devices at a cheaper price.

These phones are not just sidegrades to the Redmi Note 12 series.. They come with a new design similar to the Xiaomi 13 series, the Pro Plus using a leather back, and one of them even has an IP68 rating. It’s almost a flagship if it weren’t for its camera modules and chipset.

Redmi Note 13 5G:

The Redmi Note 13 uses a similar design language as its predecessor but you can notice the differences, including a subtle line separating the camera modules on its island and the LED flash.

It is a budget phone through and through. However it does have some monumental upgrades. First of all, the OLED screen now utilizes a 2160Hz Hi-frequency PWM Dimming which reduces flicker, a MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chipset, or the Dimensity 810 for those who aren’t familiar. It also uses a 100MP primary camera like the Honor X8a with 9-in-1 pixel binning, a 0.64µm pixel size, and finally, a 2MP depth sensor. At the front is your 16MP selfie camera.

The phone is protected with an IP54 rating so splashes won’t hurt it, as well as some speckles of dust. It also comes with dual speakers with up to 200% volume, and a 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging.

It comes in White, Blue, and Black. The official colours are written in Simplified Chinese so using an online translator would probably be inaccurate. It is priced initially at CNY 1,199 (6/128) (~PHP 9.3K) and goes all the way to CNY 1,699 (12/256) (~PHP 13.2K). The phone is not yet available outside of China.

SPECS:

  • 6.67″ FullHD+ (2400x1080px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz High-frequency PWM Dimming
    • IP54 splash/dust resistance
  • MediaTek Dimensity 6080 (6nm) (MediaTek Dimensity 810)
  • CAMERAS:
    • 100MP (Primary), 0.64µm, 9-in-1 pixel binning
    • 2MP (Depth), f/2.4
    • FRONT: 16MP
  • MIUI 14 based on Android 13
  • 5000mAh, 33W fast charging
  • USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Dual Nano-SIM Card, Virtual RAM, IR Blaster
  • 5G services, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, Dual-band Wi-Fi
  • Blue, White, Black
  • PRICE:
    • 6/128: CNY 1,199 (~PHP 9.3K)
    • 8/128: CNY 1,299 (~PHP 10.1K)
    • 8/256: CNY 1,499 (~PHP 11.7K)
    • 12/256: CNY 1,699 (~PHP 13.2K)

Source: Redmi Note 13

Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G:

The Redmi Note 13 Pro utilizes a smilar design as the vanilla Redmi Note but with an additional camera module and a new silver colour in place of black.

One of the newest highlights is the use of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. Which, if you read our article about it, is a chipset positioned below the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 and above the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.

It uses a 1.5K AMOLED screen with 1800nits peak brightness, 120Hz refresh rate, and 2160Hz hi-frequency PWM Dimming. It has a vapour chamber cooling system and the screen is also protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

The phone uses a 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP3 sensor. Not quite the newest but it does the job fine for this type of device. Alongside this is an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro camera. The former is missing on the vanilla Redmi Note 13. It uses the same 16MP selfie camera.

It uses a fairly large 5100mAh battery complete with 67W fast charging. It runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13 and also has an IP54 splash/dust resistance. Colours include white, silver, and green. Inaccurate machine translations prevent us from using their actual names until the global edition is released. Price starts at CNY 1,499 (8/128) (~PHP 11.7K) and goes all the way to CNY 2,099 (16/512) (~PHP 16.3K).

SPECS:

  • 6.67″ 1.5K (2712x1220px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, 1800nits peak brightness
    • IP54 splash/dust resistance
    • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (Samsung 4nm)
  • CAMERAS:
    • 200MP (Primary), f/1.65, 1/1.4″, 2.24µm, EIS, OIS, 4K@30fps, Samsung ISOCELL HP3
    • 8MP (Ultrawide)
    • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
    • FRONT: 16MP
  • MIUI 14 based on Android 13
  • 5100mAh, 67W fast charging
  • USB-C, Virtual RAM, IR Blaster, In-display fingerprint scanner
  • 5G services, 4G LTE, Dual Nano-SIM Slot, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.2, Dual-band Wi-Fi
  • White, Silver, Green
  • PRICE:
    • 8/128: CNY 1,499 (~PHP 11.7K)
    • 8/256: CNY 1,599 (~PHP 12.5K)
    • 12/256: CNY 1,799 (~PHP 14K)
    • 12/512: CNY 1,999 (~PHP 15.6K)
    • 16/512: CNY 2,099 (~PHP 16.3K)

Source: Redmi Note 13 Pro

Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus:

Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus in its three colours

The motherload of all three Redmi Note 13 phones, the Pro Plus almost has every characteristic of a flagship phone including a top-notch AMOLED screen, a limited-edition design, and even an IP68 rating. That’s right. Almost. It’s still a midrange phone with some features implemented here that are most likely cut off when it comes to flagships such as the 2MP macro camera.

If you visit the Chinese website, you’ll notice that the render uses a curved waterfall-like OLED screen. This isn’t your typical OLED screen as this has 12-bit colour, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, 1800nits of peak brightness, and Dolby Vision support with HDR10+. It also has 120Hz refresh rate.

The chipset used here is the Dimensity 7200-Ultra. A chipset that’s comparable in theoretical performance as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, making the phone truly busted. The chip is cooled via a vapour chamber unit inside, and comes with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.

It uses the same camera as the Redmi Note 13 Pro and last year’s Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, the 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP3. This means it has access to EIS and OIS. It uses the same complementary cameras including the 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro. The selfie camera remains the same, a 16MP shooter.

It has a 5000mAh battery with 120W fast charging. Some say it’s fast, some say it’s excessive. And no, you won’t see wireless charging here. That’s to keep the costs down.

It runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13 and has 5G services, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, an IR Blaster, and an in-display fingerprint scanner. Initially, it costs CNY 1,999 (12/256) (~PHP 15.6K) and the most expensive one at CNY 2,299 (16/512) (~PHP 17.9K). It comes in White and Black, and a purple variant with a leather textured back.

Aside from these colours, Xiaomi also collaborated with A Bathing Ape, or Aape for short. They are a Japanese fashion brand with a focus on shoes. The design made specifically for the 12/512 configuration of the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus features the company’s logo and camouflage. The box it came in also is styled similarly. In addition, the phone has a modified UI with Aape themes and wallpapers. The case and charger it comes with is also modified.

Its available in China for CNY 2,199 (~PHP 17.1K). We’re not yet sure whether this version will be released globally. What we are sure of are the regular versions. If we’re following the pattern of how the previous Redmi Notes, such as the Redmi Note 12 series were released in the Philippines, prepare to see these three released sometime in April next year.

SPECS:

  • 6.67″ 1.5k (2172x1220px) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz Hi-frequency PWM Dimming, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, L1 Widevine Certification, 1800nits peak brightness
    • IP68 water/dust resistance
    • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
  • MediaTek Dimensity 7200-Ultra (TSMC 4nm)
  • CAMERAS:
    • 200MP (Primary), f/1.65, 1/1.4″, 2.24µm, EIS, OIS, 4K@30fps, Samsung ISOCELL HP3
    • 8MP (Ultrawide)
    • 2MP (Macro)
    • FRONT: 16MP
  • MIUI 14 based on Android 13
  • 5000mAh, 120W fast charging
  • USB-C, IR Blaster, In-display fingerprint sensor, Virtual RAM
  • 5G services, 4G LTE, Dual Nano-SIM Slot, Bluetooth 5.3, Dual-band Wi-Fi
  • Black, White, Leather Purple, Aape Edition
  • PRICE:
    • 12/256: CNY 1,999 (~PHP 15.6K)
    • 12/512: CNY 2,199 (~PHP 17.1K)
    • 12/512 (Aape Edition): CNY 2,199 (~PHP 17.1K)
    • 16/512: CNY 2,299 (~PHP 17.9K)

Source: Redmi Note 13 Pro+