Leica-approved Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro now on sale in UK and Europe
Similar name, different designs - but lots to like about both
It’s been a minute since the Xiaomi 13 made its Chinese debut alongside the more potent, photography-focused Xiaomi 13 Pro – but both are now finally going on sale in the UK and Europe, complete with cameras designed with input from imaging specialist Leica, the latest Qualcomm silicon, and two very different designs.
They share a distinctive square rear camera bump and are IP68 dust and water resistant, but while the regular 13 has a 6.36in flat screen set into an angular central frame, a la the iPhone 14 and Samsung Galaxy S23, the larger 13 Pro has a 6.73in curved display and more rounded proportions in general.
The former can be had in black, white and green hues here in the UK directly from the Xiaomi website, at £849 for the 8GB+256GB model, with early birds getting an £80 discount towards the firm’s other products if they order before March the 21st. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is only available in (admittedly very fetching) black bio-ceramic, at £1099 for the 12GB+256GB model. Anyone buying straight from Xiaomi will qualify for a £100 voucher to use against other Xiaomi kit.
The other major point of divergence is the cameras. The Xiaomi 13 combines a 50MP main snapper with a 10MP telephoto good for 3.2x optical zoom and 12MP ultrawide, which puts it on par with Samsung’s Galaxy S23 in hardware terms. The Xiaomi 13 Pro gets a 50/50/50 setup, with identical pixel counts for its main, zoom and ultrawide lenses – but that main snapper is a cut above, as it uses a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor. That’s bigger than anything else you’ll find on a phone right now, and should be capable of some especially dreamy depth blur – no software processing required.
Both phones let you pick between two Leica shooting modes: Authentic maintains accuracy, while Vibrant boosts saturation for a more visually pleasing (if less true to life) look. They also have filters that mimic classic Leica looks, make the classic Leica shutter sound whenever you take a snap, and a portrait mode that promises 35mm black and white, 50mm swirly bokeh, 75mm portrait and 90mm soft focus options.
On the display front Xiaomi has gone for AMOLED across the board, with the 13 Pro getting a 3200×1440 resolution to the regular handset’s 2400×1080. Both support dynamic 120Hz refresh rates, both promise support for all the major HDR formats, and both can boost to a retina-blasting 1900nits peak brightness.
Performance comes via a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, whichever model you choose. It’s paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in the Xiaomi 13, while the 13 Pro has 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage. They run Android 13 out of the box, with Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 interface on top. Expect three major Android version updates, and five years of security patches.
The smaller Xiaomi 13 has a 4500mAh battery, while the larger Pro has room for a 4820mAh cell which can charge at an astonishing 120W using the bundled power brick. The regular 13 tops out at 67W, and both can manage 50W wirelessly with a compatible Qi charging pad. Either way you should be looking at all-day battery life.
Both phones went on sale in the UK on the 14th of March. The Xiaomi 13 costs £849, matching the Galaxy S23 exactly, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro will set you back £1099 – considerably less than an S23 Ultra.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
