Launched in July, the Redmi 13 5G is the latest offering in Xiaomi’s budget smartphone series. Priced at Rs 14,000, this smartphone looks very promising on paper, especially with its 108MP camera sensor, glass back panel (a rarity for this segment), and the respectable Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 AE processor. Of course, Xiaomi has also made some tradeoffs to keep the price of the device in check. We’ve been using the smartphone for more than a week to find out if it delivers the performance it promises on paper. Here is our in-depth review of the Redmi 13 5G.
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In This Article
Redmi 13 5G Review: Design and Display
Here’s what you get inside Redmi 13’s retail box:
- Smartphone
- 33W power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable
- Clear plastic case
- SIM ejector
- Quick start guide
The glass black panel is one of the major highlights of this phone. Despite having a glossy finish, this panel does not attract a lot of fingerprints. Its in-hand feel exceeds any other plastic back panel smartphone in this price segment. On the flip side, having a glass back comes with additional weight. The Redmi 13 5G weighs 205 grams.
The smartphone’s design isn’t too extravagant, which isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, its design is similar to its predecessor. The two camera cutouts are larger in size, but they are arranged in the same vertical layout that we saw on the Redmi 12 5G. A small ring flash is placed adjacent to the two cutouts.
The plastic frame of the smartphone houses the primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and the lone speaker grille on its bottom edge. It is nice to see the headphone jack and IR blaster on the device as well. Both of them are placed on the top edge. The right edge of the smartphone carries the volume rocker keys and the side button, which also doubles up as the fingerprint scanner. The hybrid SIM tray is placed on the left edge.
Sporting a 6.79-inch LCD panel, the Redmi 13 is not a small smartphone by any means. However, its taller form factor makes it quite easy to hold in one hand. The bezels surrounding this display get noticeably thicker around the chin. The selfie camera is housed inside a punch-hole cutout. The display has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and can reach 550 nits in HBM. The smartphone struggled to hit the optimum brightness under direct sunlight and we were forced to shield it with our palms to increase the legibility of the display.
Having an LCD panel also means that the smartphone misses out on Always On Display. It provides a decent viewing experience with vibrant colours and a good amount of detail but doesn’t replicate the deep blacks and rich colours like its AMOLED counterparts. The output produced by the lone speaker grille is passable but not as loud as a dual-speaker setup. We found that the output was easily drowned out by the background sound of loud fans and ACs. The good thing is that you can plug a wired headset into the smartphone and not rely on dishing out a couple extra thousand on a wireless headset.
Rated IP53 for dust and water resistance, the Redmi 13 can survive minor splashes. However, we would not recommend taking out the smartphone under the rain for an extended period of time.
Redmi 13 5G Review: Performance and Cameras
The Redmi 13 5G gets a minor update upgrade under the hood. The smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 ‘Accelerated Edition’ SoC. There are two RAM variants on offer – 6GB and 8GB. The latter variant fetches Rs 15,500. Both RAM variants get 128GB of fixed UFS 2.2 storage. This is certainly not the fastest storage spec out there, but it is fairly commonplace in this price segment.
Our everyday usage experience with the Redmi 13 5G throughout the review period was very pleasant. The smartphone’s performance is limited by the boundaries of the segment, which is why we can’t judge it too harshly for the odd stutter and lag. Overall, our app usage experience was smooth and seamless. Sure, the apps take a fraction of a second longer to load, but it doesn’t take too long to get used to it. The display’s touch response is snappy and makes navigating the smartphone much more fun. Tasks like web browsing, video calling, navigation, and media streaming do not feel like a hassle. We ran the Geekbench 6 test on the smartphone and it returned a single-core score of 953 points and a multi-core score of 2,207 points. Last year’s Redmi 12 5G scored 791 and 1,803 points respectively.
Redmi 13 5G’s gaming performance is consistent when the titles are limited to moderate graphics. The smartphone delivers 60fps gameplay devoid of any major jitters and frame drops. However, the internal temperature of the smartphone rises sharply after the 30-minute mark. Its effect is noticeable on the gaming performance. It goes without saying that this smartphone is not a workhorse that is designed for a high-end gaming experience, nor it is marketed as such. If top-shelf gaming performance is your top priority, you will need to splurge some extra money for a more powerful device.
One of our favourite things about the Redmi 13 5G is that it comes with the Android 14-based HyperOS out of the box. It is nice to see Xiaomi offer its next-gen OS on its most affordable 5G smartphone. The only catch is that it is a limited version of HyperOS, which means the smartphone misses out on a few features. For us, the biggest miss is the ‘Magazine’ lock screen that uses your portrait images to create attractive lock screen layouts. On the bright side, it has essential privacy tools like App Lock and Second Screen.
Packing a massive 5,030mAh battery unit, the Redmi 13 delivers a versatile battery performance. We were easily able to get a day’s worth of charge on heavy usage. If you’re more conservative with your usage, you can push its battery life to 1.5 days. During the review period, we used the Redmi 13 5G for calling, instant messaging, social media browsing, media streaming, and gaming. We were left with a 10-15% charge at the end of each day. Using the 33W charger that comes in the box, it took us almost an hour to fully charge the device.
Moving on, the Redmi 13 5G produces a fabulous camera performance, which could possibly be the one to beat in this price segment. This is largely due to the powerful 108MP primary sensor in the rear camera array. Also present is a 2MP macro sensor for close-up shots. Up front, the smartphone packs a 13MP selfie camera.
In outdoor daylight conditions, the 108MP primary shooter puts up a phenomenal performance, producing vibrant pictures with surprisingly accurate colours for a smartphone in this price range. The images pack a good level of contrast and display a decent dynamic range. The clarity along with the level of detail in the images is top-notch.
After a brilliant showcase in daylight conditions, we were expecting the smartphone to deliver in a limited lighting environment as well, but its performance in this aspect is on par with other devices in this segment. The smartphone struggles to brighten the subject and the results are generally very soft and dark. This isn’t a dealbreaker for us because it is pretty much the norm in this price category.
The portrait shots taken with the Redmi 13 5G are focused, detailed, and rich in colour. The smartphone does a good job of separating the subject from the background and applying the appropriate level of blur. The same is the case with portrait shots taken with the selfie camera. The front-facing 13MP sensor tends to overcorrect the skin tone and texture, but the overall results are satisfactory. The video recording chops of both sensors are limited to 1080p resolution and 30fps.
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Verdict
The Redmi 13 5G pushes the boundaries of camera performance in the sub-Rs 15,000 price category. For this price, you’d be hard-pressed to find a phone that takes better pictures in daylight conditions than the Redmi 13. The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 AE SoC puts up a good performance and Xiaomi’s HyperOS presents a decent software experience. On the styling end, Redmi 13’s glass back panel ensures that the smartphone has a splendid in-hand feel. The lack of an AMOLED display, AOD, and dual speaker are some significant tradeoffs, but we feel that Redmi 13’s processor and primary sensor easily balance these shortcomings and make it an exciting smartphone in this price range.
Redmi 13 5G: Pros
- Great 108MP primary camera
- Glass back
- Runs HyperOS out of the box
- 33W charging
Redmi 13 5G: Cons
- LCD panel instead of AMOLED
- No AOD
- Lacks a dual speaker setup
