During a press event in Barcelona yesterday, right before the city hosts the 2023 Mobile World Congress trade show, Xiaomi officially announced the international launch of its Xiaomi 13 smartphone series. The phones had previously been launched in China in December but are now making their international debut.
Unfortunately, for any interested Americans, as is usually the case, none of the phones are planned for release in the US.
Xiaomi 13 Pro
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is the most impressive entry in the series, especially for mobile photographers. The phone, which has a 6.73″ curved display, has cameras co-developed with famed photography company Leica. The main 50MP rear camera has a 1″ lens, which is one of the largest available in any smartphone right now, and it also has a 50MP 75mm floating telephoto camera, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera, along with a 32MP front-facing camera.
The impressive camera specs allow the Xiaomi 13 Pro to take 10-Bit RAW images. Portrait mode images with the telephoto lens can also be altered beyond the standard 75mm photos. You can choose to take them in black and white with a 35mm image, along with a 50mm swirly bokeh look, or a 90mm soft focus photo.
Other hardware specs on the Xiaomi 13 Pro include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 4820mAh battery that can charge from zero to 100 percent as fast as 19 minutes with a 120W HyperCharge charger in Boost mode. It also supports both 5G and Wi-Fi 7 wireless speeds, The phone has a IP68 rating for dust and water resistance and comes with Android 13 out of the box with Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 overlay.
The phone will be available for the price of €1,300 in Europe, and £1,099 in the UK, in either Ceramic Black or Ceramic White colours. Exact Irish availability is still TBC.
Xiaomi 13
The standard Xiaomi 13 has a 6.36″ flat screen, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, either 8 or 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 4500mAh battery.
The cameras were also co-developed with Leica, and include a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP telephoto camera, and a 10MP ultra-wide camera, along with the 32MP front camera.
The price for that phone will start at €1,000 in Europe and £849 in the UK, with the colour options of White, Black, or Flora Green.
Xiaomi 13 Lite
Finally, there’s the mid-budget Xiaomi 13 Lite. The curved 6.55″ display has the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip inside, 8GB of RAM, and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The cameras on this phone, which don’t come with the Leica branding, include a 50MP main camera, a 5MP telephoto lens, and a 2MP ultra-wide sensor. It also has a 4500mAh battery.
Unfortunately, the phone comes with the older Android 12 out of the box.
The Xiaomi 13 Lite does something a bit different with its front cameras. Yes, cameras. In addition to the 32MP main front camera, the phone also has an 8MP depth sensor, and both are placed inside the top portion of the display. It will be available in three colours (Black, Lite Blue, and Lite Pink) and will be priced at €499 in Europe.
