Xiaomi 13T Pro Review

Verdict

The Xiaomi 13 T Pro is a smartphone that looks and feels the part , and open hardware , include a 144Hz AMOLED presentation , ternary tv camera system and 120W fast point tech that further bolsters that get . However , as with most Xiaomi equipment , it ’s let down by EMUI 14 , offer a rather frustrating tone of the Android O at times .

Pros

Cons

Key Features

Introduction

You might assume that the Xiaomi 13 T Pro is a mid - time of year upgrade to the flagship Xiaomi 13 Pro , but that ’s not the cause .

In Xiaomi ’s compositor’s case , the T does n’t symbolize a ‘ turbo ’ variation of the equipment , but a more budget - friendly option . We ’re not talking truebudget levelshere – the Xiaomi 13 T Pro starts at £ 649 – but it ’s a goddam tidy sum cheaper than the £ 1,099Xiaomi 13 Pro .

The query is , are the barter - offs deserving the reduction in price or should you opt for acapable mid - rangerfrom the ilk of Google or Nothing ? After spending over a week and a half with my SIM in the Xiaomi 13 T Pro , here ’s what I recollect .

Design

The Xiaomi 13 T Pro is a pretty standard agiotage smartphone , romp a combination of aluminium and either glass or vegan leather , depending on the finis you opt for .

The colour options , include fashionable Meadow Green and Alpine Blue , help the Xiaomi 13 T Pro stand out from the sea of calamitous and silver medal finishes , though there is a bog - received Black stopping point available if that is your cup of teatime .

The simulated leather finish , which I was provided with for reexamination , feel exceptionally subdued and comfortable to the spot , with curving edges that assist it fit nicely into the medal of the hand . It also stop the 13 T Pro from sliding off slenderly odd surfaces , though you’re able to get it with aGorilla Glass 5 - reinforced rear alternatively if you prefer the cold touch of glass .

That said , it ’s not on the nose the thinnest or lightest smartphone in the arena , assess in at 8.6 mm and 206 g severally . There is something to be said for the strong feeling of a heavy smartphone like theiPhone 14 Pro Max , but it does feel a little moment bulky – even with those curved edges .

The camera bump has also had a redesign compared to its predecessor , swop out the orthogonal rear cutout for a much more squared - off affair . modest details like sloping bezel help make it look a footling more attractive , but let ’s be honest , there ’s only so much you could do to make a camera bump look cool .

The black color of the television camera housing does stick out like a sore thumb on the more colorful conclusion – what would ’ve been skillful is if the housings match the hue of the rear panel , like with theiPhone 15and even budget options like theMotorola Edge 40 Neo .

One affair you need n’t concern about is junk or water , with anIP68dust and water electrical resistance rating that should survive a stuff shot in the pee and a tripper to the beach .

An area where Xiaomi does require to improve is its environmental commitments , with plenty of individual - use credit card in the box that is n’t great for the environs , and as far as I know , the phone does n’t use any recycle components or materials either .

Display

Xiaomi has a repute for focusing on mellow - end video display tech across much of its smartphone range – even budget options like the £ 339Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5Ghas a 6.67 - inch120HzOLED show – and that trend continues with the Xiaomi 13 T Pro .

Though notLTPO - enabledor swerve like its more exchange premium sib , the Xiaomi 13 Pro , the 6.67 - inch AMOLED display is in reality faster than Xiaomi ’s flagship at 144Hz . This , combined with a 480Hz touch sample rate , makes it peculiarly well - suited to gaming .

Gamers tend to covet that specific refresh pace , capable of delivering up to 144 frames per second in support title – the arrest is that there are n’t many of those around on Google Play right on now . you may force the video display to deliver at its maximum 144Hz refresh pace at all times , but by default , it ’ll mechanically switch refresh rate depending on what you ’re up to to save on assault and battery animation .

Elsewhere , the pin - sharp resoluteness , AMOLED showing tech and backup for advanced formats includingDolby VisionandHDR10+deliver a top - ending presentation experience with vivacious colors , deep ink-black blacks and impressive line in supported HDR title on the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video .

It ’s also enough bright with a standard brightness of 1200nits that can be boosted all the way up to a blistering 2600nits when ascertain that HDR content , really complete that dynamic range in stomach contentedness .

That all said , the Xiaomi 13 T Pro ’s 6.67 - inch display is well suited not only to gormandise Netflix on the go but in high spirits - closing , high skeleton - rate gameplay .

Cameras

TheXiaomi 12 T Prosported a whopping 200MP sensing element , so the 50MP master sensor of the 13 T Pro does palpate like a second of a downgrade – on paper , anyway . In realness , there ’s much more to camera art than megapixel enumeration , and the main sensing element fork over gravid results in a range of shape .

In well - lit scenario , images are vivacious , detailed and balanced with great HDR functioning that does n’t look too overprocessed . What ’s more , thanks to the fellowship ’s partnership with Leica , it has the same Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic manner to choose from , allowing you to prefer between vibrant images and those with colours a little more true to life .

That tendency continue once abstemious storey set out to drop , sucking in impressive amount of money of light to clear up even near - pitch - dark scenes like my back garden at 11 pm , with the only source of light coming from a humble light-emitting diode statue in my garden . The only downside is that , without laser autofocus , it sometimes fight to find the focus .

Flanking the main sensor are 50MP telephoto and 12MP ultrawide television camera .

Now , you might accept that bug the 2x push button in the Camera app would offer access code to the 50 mm telephoto electron lens – but oddly , that ’s not always the case . I ’ve noticed that , depending on light conditions , the earphone sometimes defaults to a cropped view of the master sensor instead of the consecrated 2x lense , though there ’s no obvious verse or reasonableness as to when or why this come about .

It ’s also worth observe that , while the Portrait camera indeed uses the dedicated telephoto by nonpayment , switching to the Master Lens System – a novel portraiture feature that provides 35 mm , 50 mm or 90 millimetre angle for Portrait picture taking – will again default to the primary detector . The telephotograph lens willsometimesbe used , but it ’s inconsistent and a slight odd .

That ’s not to say that the Master Lens System does n’t have anything to offer – I love the unlike tones between the default , Documentary and Swirly Bokeh modes – though I think that the mild Focus mode is a minuscule pointless , offering purposely dim image that look a niggling fleck naff overall .

The ultrawide delivers fine results in well - get off scenarios , but with a relatively low - answer 12MP detector , it ca n’t take reward of the pixel - binning technical school of the other sensing element . As such , images can sometimes seem a little soft . What is consistent , however , is the colour pallet , with good - very tones across the chief and ultrawide sensors .

switch the telephone set over , and you ’ll find a 20MP front - facing photographic camera that ’s more than enough for video cry with friends , and with HDR and Night mode sustenance , you may get pretty creative with your selfies too .

Video recording include both 4K@60fps and 8K@24fps capabilities , though I ’d recommend sticking to 4 K transcription with better image stabilization than the top - conclusion , rather choppy , 8 K capture .

Performance

At the heart of the Xiaomi 13 T Pro you ’ll detect MediaTek ’s Dimensity 9200 + chipset coupled with either 12- or 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB , 512 GB or 1 TB of entrepot – a stark change from theQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2chipset line up in the Xiaomi 13 Pro in the beginning this twelvemonth .

While the 9200 + is very much MediaTek ’s top - end Dimensity chipset , it does n’t quite compete with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 – or even the8 Plus Gen 1 , if I ’m being true – in benchmarks , with mainframe loads trailing behind equivalent Snapdragon option in the like of theOnePlus 11andSamsung Galaxy S23 .

It ’s also deserving note that Xiaomi has a block on our GPU benchmark apps , 3DMark and GFXBench , so I ca n’t say how it compares to the competition with data to back things up .

But while the CPU benchmark result paint a picture of a capable but not top - close chipset , real - worldly concern performance suggests otherwise . In my hebdomad and a second with the Xiaomi 13 T Pro , I ’ve yet to see even the little hint of stutter or lag . Everything feel instantaneous , no doubt help by the pantry - smooth 144Hz refresh rate , with the 13 T Pro comfortably able to handle whatever I threw at it , from image editing to split - concealment use .

That also pass to gaming , with the phone well able to handle insouciant games like Survivor.io and graphically intensive title like Call of Duty Mobile without much yield , though it did get slightly tender on the nates when playing the latter over longer sessions .

That all enounce , most people wo n’t acknowledge any dispute between the Xiaomi 13 T Pro and any Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 - outfit smartphone in everyday use .

Audio performance is just as strong with the loud , clear stereophony verbaliser setup that makes watching YouTube video and TikToks on speaker a little more immersive , though it ’s when connected that the audio truly excels thanks toDolby Atmossupport put up a spacial effect to all audio frequency played on the speech sound , whether it ’s Atmos - plump for or not .

Software

Xiaomi ’s MIUI 14 software , found onAndroid 13 , is always going to be a turn like Marmite – you ’ll either have sex it or detest it .

That ’s because the Chinese manufacturer tends to take a different approach to the Android experience compare to more line options from the likes of Google and Motorola , with a heavy stylised UI that take over a fate of breathing in from iOS .

The most illustrious iOS dupe is the quick ascendance and notification shade split , with users needing to abstract down on the top - veracious - hired man side of the display to get at quick controls . It works well on iOS , but it just feels a little bit odd having the functionality on an Android twist .

There are also other remainder compare to other execution of the Android oxygen that can make it a flake difficult to get used to , even if you ’ve been an Android user for years .

The configurations app is perplexing to voyage , notifications are mechanically group in the presentment spook and Xiaomi has a rather fast-growing battery life history management system that drink down backcloth apps passably damn promptly , interrupt the catamenia of telling .

That ’s not to say it ’s unbearable – it just get hold of a lot of getting used to . It ’s not all bad either , with features like the Live Wallpapers that modulation from AOD to lock up screen door to home plate silver screen with gorgeous animations , and I get laid the dynamic droplet text edition tone that changes in pitch depending on how many notifications you get .

Long - term reinforcement is also astonishingly strong for a Xiaomi machine with the company improving its three oculus sinister upgrades and four year of security department while from last year ’s Xiaomi 12 T Pro , offering four oxygen rise and five class of security patches for the 13 T Pro that ’ll keep it up to date all the way until Android 17 – one of the best long - full term promises around .

Battery life

Battery life is fairly solid on the Xiaomi 13 T Pro despite that blisteringly fast 144Hz refresh rate , thanks to the comprehension of a 5000mAh cell .

I ’ve found that it can easily make it through an average day of use – taking it off flush at around 7:30am , using it sporadically for texting , listening to medicine and scrolling through TikTok – with around 30 - 40 % battery lifespan get out at the end of the day , at around 11:30pm .

The big caveat is that I do n’t incline to play mobile games that often , and that is an arena that could really hammer your battery – peculiarly with AAA games running with high - destruction artwork at a high refresh rate . To that end , I noted 8 % drain over 30 instant of tripping gambling , while an hr of Netflix HDR drained a slenderly over median 11 % .

The good tidings is that , even if the Xiaomi 13 T Pro does demand a top - up , charging is passing rapid with the comprehension of Xiaomi ’s 120W tight charge tech – and the 120W battery charger come in the box . This think of that you may get a full charge in as small as 33 proceedings during our testing , with 54 % charge in just 15 moment .

However , it ’s not as fast as expected – the OnePlus 11 has more or less less powerful 100W charging , but it managed a full charge of its very 5000mAh cell in 28 minutes , suggesting Xiaomi ’s pick is n’t quite as power efficient .

There is n’t any radio charge on offer either – it ’s either wire or nothing . It ’s not a fully grown wad with such degenerate pumped charging , but some will no doubt lament the more convenient option .

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Should you buy it?

With a gamy - quality display , capable cameras , great performance and strong barrage life , the Xiaomi 13 T Pro is a strong all - libertine .

Xiaomi ’s EMUI 14 is about as far from stock Android as it add up , with iOS - instigate ingredient along with first- and third - political party bloatware put a moistener on the experience .

Final Thoughts

It ’s the same onetime Xiaomi report with the 13 T Pro – great hardware lease down by sometimes thwarting software in the descriptor of MIUI 14 . It borrow stirring from Io while simultaneously doing thing completely differently from other Android OEMs , create the learning trend a rather steep one , even if you ’re familiar with the Android OS .

Flaws of software package aside , the ironware on offering is impressive believe its £ 649 cost tag . The 6.67 - inch AMOLED display is great for both movie follow and gaming thanks to a 144Hz refresh pace .

The Leica - branded camera frame-up can deliver great resultant role in both well - alight and low - light scenarios , with the latter capable to contend with the the likes of of theGoogle Pixel 7 . The telephoto lens is a bit of an peculiarity , however , with a cropped view of the main sensor used more often than I expected .

Performance is also top - notch , and although it ’s not quite up to competing with theSnapdragon 8 Gen 2equipped by many alternatives , everyday performance is upstanding .

Battery life is also decent , and 120W tight charging technical school is impressive , though it ’s worth note that ‘ slower ’ fast chargers can bear faster charge times than the Xiaomi 13 T Pro – theOnePlus 11being a select instance .

If you ’re glad with the package offering , there ’s a lot to like about the Xiaomi 13 T professional . If it ’s a hurdle you ca n’t get over , however , best mid - rangeoptions like the Google Pixel 7 , OnePlus 11 and even the stylisedNothing Phone ( 2)will provide a more self-colored computer software experience .

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