Faisal Ghaffar 
In late February, Xiaomi launched two flagship smartphones globally, which are the 13 and 13 Pro. The company has confirmed that it does not plan on introducing an ‘S’ update in the year. The 13 Pro has the latest silicon from Qualcomm, some of the fastest charging offered and a main camera boasting a massive 1in sensor. This makes the Xiaomi 13 Pro almost unmatched in terms of hardware, even if there is room for improvement in software.
Design and build
While the design of the 13 Pro has been revamped, not everything is appealing. It does have a sleek appearance, but the camera module takes some of the shine way like a sore thumb.The rear sensors have been upgraded and is a reflection of Xiaomi’s partnership with Leica. Nonetheless, it still looks ugly.
They have also changed the glass back of its predecessor to a ceramic one, which feels premium, but means the device weighs more. The 13 Pro is significantly heavier than the 12 Pro as it weighs 229g. The phone is certainly well-built and is quite robust, but the black could shatter because it does not have the Gorilla Glass Victusused on the front.
It has an IP68 rating, which means it is protected against water and dust. The 13 Pro is only available in white and black. The vibration motor also delivers good haptic feedback. The sides of the phone are aluminum and the volume controls and power button have been added on the right. The SIM tray, speaker and USB-C port are at the bottom, but there is no 3.5mm audio jack.
Screen and speakers
The 13 Pro has an OLED panel of 6.73in offering 1440×3200, which is one of the best displays on a phone. The colors pop and you can see superb details that cannot be found elsewhere. There is an adaptive refresh rate that moves between 1Hz and 120Hz, depending on what you are doing. The display also has an optical fingerprint sensor. There is a single downward firing speaker, but there is not much improvement in audio over its predecessor.
Specs and performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powers the 13 Pro, which ensures power efficiency and performance. There is 12GB of RAM and the phone will breeze through whatever tasks you are using it for. This also applies to mobile gaming. As for storage, you have a choice between 256GB and 512GB, but no expandable storage is offered. The phone has 5G support, Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E standards.
Camera
The hefty camera module on the back of the 13 Pro has three 50Mp lenses, but the main sensor is 1in Sony IMX989, which means that the camera is quite impressive. The portrait mode is software-based, which means it is a hit and a miss, but others work quite well. You can get 3.2x optical zoom and there is also a 50Mp ultrawide. A 32Mp selfie camera is also one of the top ones in the market. Colors, details and exposure are all breathtaking.
The Verdict
When you add in the 4,800mAh battery, you will find that the 13 Pro offers significant improvements over its predecessor, but the price point does come off as a tad hefty.
