realme 13 Pro and Pro+ Launched in India! The Differences will SHOCK You.

It’s so drastic that you will miss out if you just get the 13 Pro.

Didn’t the realme 12 series just launched? Well, that does not matter anymore as the realme 13 Pro and Pro+ launched in India already, which usually is where the global launch begins. We expect the devices to hit the Philippines this September but it’s still up to realme Philippines to decide on that.

The reason why both phones launched together is that the two are practically identical unless you dissect it in and out. Sure there are subtle differences, but are those differences worth spending extra upon?

realme 13 Pro: OverGlorified

Just like the realme 11 and 12, the realme 13 series continues the Monet-inspired design, and with the camera island inspired directly from luxury watches. We’re not giving them ideas, but it would be funny if they replaced all the lenses at the back with a secondary display, like on flip phones. They do that seldom on flagship phones, such as the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.

The realme 13 Pro comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset paired with 8 or 12GB RAM and either 128, 256, or 512GB RAM. Moving forward, realme devices will always have a 512GB option and, get ready for this… IP65 rating! Yes, that’s going to be a commonality from now on.

In terms of display, the realme 13 Pro comes with a 6.7″ FullHD+ AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate, also retained from the realme 12 Pro. If you can see a pattern now, that’s because the new phones are essentially small upgrades from the realme 12 Pro series. It also retained the 2160Hz PWM dimming, which reduces flicker and it’s easy for the eyes. We’ll insert a table here and see the similarities yourself.

The main highlight, as always, since the very start, is the cameras. This is why during the launch, this part is heavily emphasized. The realme 13 Pro possesses “three” cameras. The primary camera is a Sony Lytia LYT-600 sensor which has 50MP resolution. The other is an 8MP ultrawide, and the one below it is a 2MP depth helper. The phone also uses a 32MP selfie camera. As ubiquitous as it is, it appears that the LYT-600 will be hanging around for several midrange smartphones this year, especially if that brand is BBK. They slap that sensor into every midrange phone, such as the Nord CE4 Lite and the Reno12 series. Oh, the 8MP ultrawide is also here to stay.

Before we forget. Yes, they mentioned AI in the presentation multiple times. That’s buzzword of the year for you, even though this has been a thing since Android smartphones were, it’s just more blatant now. Some AI features mentioned AI Smart Removal, a feature that removes your unwanted friends and exes in just a click, and AI Ultra Clarity which is basically a sharpening tool ala pixel binning. This turns blurry images into finetuned ones.

Finally, the realme 12 Pro uses a 5200mAh battery with 45W fast charging. Before we forget, the phone possesses true Hi-Res speakers (at least it has that going for it, unlike the Vivo V30e for instance). Stereo, to add.

The realme 13 Pro comes in three colours, which are Monet Purple, Monet Gold, and Emerald Green. The latter has a back made from vegan leather, just like the realme 11 Pro series. While the former two are the premium colours for the 13 Pro, which gives that pulchritude stride.

The realme 13 Pro starts at INR 26,999 (~PHP 18.6K) for the 8/128 variant (yikes, we say). The other two variants are priced at INR 28,999 (~PHP 20K), and INR 31,999 (~PHP 22.1K) for the 8/256 and 12/512 variants respectively.

Source: realme 13 Pro

realme 13 Pro+: Just Add Telephoto

According to the marketing materials, and even in a viral video stunt, the realme 13 Pro+ can do “ultra clear portraits in any light, better than DSLRs”. Which is a very bold statement indeed. You mean to tell us that a modest smartphone like the realme 13 Pro+ outclasses flagship phones, and DSLRs? That’s pretty hard to believe.

Anyway, design-wise, the phone is identical to the realme 13 Pro. This means it retains the same luxury watch feel and Monet-inspired design. When it comes to making phones look premium, BBK is proficient at it. Because of that, the phone comes with the same exact colours which are Monet Gold and Purple, and Emerald Green, made of vegan leather.

The phone retains the Sony Lytia LYT-600 as the 13 Pro but it now functions as a 3x telephoto camera, with up to 120x digital zoom. At that distance, prepare to see your phone oversharpen your image so you can still see details. For the primary, a more powerful Sony LYT-701 replaces the aforementioned LYT-600. The 8MP ultrawide is retained of course, as well as the 32MP selfie. In a nutshell, you pay a heftier extra for that telephoto lens.

Also, the same display and chipset are used. As for the battery, it’s the same capacity, 5200mAh but the charging rate is increased from 45W to 80W. Still, the realme 11 Pro+ had an even bigger rating of 100W, but this shouldn’t have that much of a difference.

In case you were wondering, the stereo speakers with Hi-Res certification remain. However, do not expect any sort of Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) here.

The phone is initially priced at INR 32,999 (~PHP 22.8K) (8/256). Meanwhile, the 12/256 and 12/512 configurations are priced at INR 34,999 (~PHP 24.1K) and INR 36,999 (~PHP 25.5K) respectively.

Source: realme 13 Pro Plus

COMPARISON SHEET:

Is the new realme 13 series worth upgrading from your realme 12 Pro+? Well, check out the differences below. Note that items in BOLD indicate the superiority of the spec over the compared item. Since the realme 13 series is not yet released in the Philippines, we’ll be using its Indian SRP and directly convert it to PHP with no taxes added yet. We’ll be updating this list once the phones are official.

SPECIFICATION	realme 12 Pro+	realme 13 Pro	realme 13 Pro+
Display	6.7″ FullHD+ (2412x1080px) Curved AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, 240Hz touch response rate	6.7″ FullHD+ (2412x1080px) Curved AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, 240Hz touch response rate	6.7″ FullHD+ (2412x1080px) Curved AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, 240Hz touch response rate
Cameras	50MP (Primary), f/1,8, 24mm, 1/1.56″, Sony IMX890, OIS 64MP (Telephoto), f/2.6, 1/2″, 71mm, Omnivision OV64B, OIS, 3x optical zoom 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 112° FOV FRONT: 32MP, f/2.4, Sony IMX615	50MP (Primary), f/1.88, 1/1.95″, Sony Lytia LYT-600, OIS 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 112° FOV FRONT: 32MP, f/2.4, Sony IMX615	50MP (Primary), f/1.88, 1/1.56″, Sony Lytia LYT-701, OIS 50MP (Telephoto), f/1.88, 1/1.95″, Sony Lytia LYT-600, OIS, 3x optical zoom, 120x digital zoom 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 112° FOV FRONT: 32MP, f/2.4, Sony IMX615
Performance	Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (4nm)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (4nm)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (4nm)
Operating System	Android 14, realmeUI 5	Android 14, realmeUI 5	Android 14, realmeUI 5
Battery	5000mAh, 67W fast charging	5200mAh, 45W fast charging	5200mAh, 80W fast charging
Ports	USB-C, In-display fingerprint scanner, Stereo Speakers with Hi-Res Audio and Dolby Atmos	USB-C, In-display fingerprint scanner, Stereo Speakers with Hi-Res Audio and Dolby Atmos	USB-C, In-display fingerprint scanner, Stereo Speakers with Hi-Res Audio and Dolby Atmos
Connectivity	5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC	5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC	5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
Colours	Submarine Blue, Navigator Beige	Monet Gold, Monet Purple, Emerald Green (Vegan Leather)	Monet Gold, Monet Purple, Emerald Green (Vegan Leather)
Price	12/512: PHP 25,999	8/128: ~PHP 18.3K* 8/256: ~PHP 20K* 12/512: ~PHP 22.1K*	8/256: ~PHP 22.8K* 12/256: ~PHP 24.1K* 12/512: ~PHP 25.5K*