The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ features a 120W charger included in the box, complemented by a 5,000mAh battery. It boasts a pre-applied screen protector and comes with a case and a USB cable, a feature many brands are foregoing nowadays.
With a 200MP main camera equipped with Optical Image Stabilization, it utilizes the same sensor seen in the 12T Pro. Powered by the Dimensity 7200 Ultra, the base model offers 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, utilizing UFS 3.12 for swift performance. The redmi note 13 pro plus sports an AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and can reach up to 1800 Nits peak brightness.
Table of Contents
Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus Design and Build
I get the purple variant of the Redmi Note 13 Pro+, and it features a synthetic leather-like material that feels pleasant to the touch. It has a textured surface, providing a better grip. I appreciate that the back isn’t made of glass, reducing the risk of shattering upon impact.
Moving on to the camera setup, it includes the familiar 200-megapixel sensor seen in the 12T Pro with Optical Image Stabilization. Unfortunately, there’s a less impressive 2-megapixel macro camera and an outdated 8-megapixel ultrawide camera. The latter seems like a leftover part that they continue to use due to excess stock. Despite its subpar quality, the main sensor can still capture decent shots, the dual-tone LED flash adds a distinctive touch.
The frame around the device is plastic, but it feels solid, almost resembling alloy. The power button and volume controls are on the right side. At the bottom, we find the SIM tray (for two Nano SIMs), a microphone, loudspeaker, and a USB 2.0 port with limited video output capability and slower transfer speeds. The loudspeaker, another microphone, and an IR transmitter are present on the bottom as well. The USB Type-C port reveals a black inner lining, indicating a plastic frame. There are no visible antenna lines.
Despite the plastic frame, the build quality is impressive, and the overall feel of the device is not cheap. Considering its price point of around $330, the build quality is excellent.
Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 120hz OLED Display
The curved OLED display, although not flat, is satisfactory, supporting a 120Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision. The fingerprint reader, positioned a bit lower than ideal, functions well, and 6.67-inch screen, covered with Gorilla Glass Victus, feels smooth. Due to the curved edges, colors may slightly distort at the top and bottom. Redmi Note 13 Pro+ top and bottom bezels are standard, housing a 16-megapixel front camera in a cutout. The thickness of the phone is 8.9mm, excluding the protruding cameras.
I’ve increased the brightness, making a noticeable improvement, touch gestures are responsive and fluid, and after checking in the developer options, I confirmed that the UI operates at 120 frames per second, aligning with the 120Hz refresh rate. The overall performance is excellent; gestures work seamlessly, multitasking is efficient, and there’s no noticeable slowdown. The substantial 12GB of RAM contributes to a smoother experience, surpassing the performance of 8GB configurations.
As for the refresh rate options, there’s a custom setting allowing you to choose between 60Hz and 120Hz, Unfortunately there’s no 90Hz option, which the display could support. Adding this option in future updates would be appreciated. The color scheme can be adjusted, and you can fine-tune the white balance. Despite the claimed peak brightness of 1800 nits, I measured just over 1300 nits. Nevertheless, the screen holds up well in direct sunlight, making it easily usable for tasks like messaging and texting.
Regarding the display’s bezels, they are acceptable, considering this is essentially a mid-range phone. However, the color shifting is a minor concern. When viewed from an angle, the screen appears darker with a noticeable blue tint due to the curved nature of the display. Personally, I would prefer a flat screen, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Overall, Xiaomi has chosen a commendable panel for the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus.
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ Rom and bloatware?
I want to mention a bit about the ROM on the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ because it came with basically no bloatware pre-installed at all, and that is not normal. This is something that Giztop has done. I believe Giztop has run a script or something to remove all the Chinese bloatware, so that is all gone when you get it if you buy it from them, which is very good.
However the stock Gallery app was a victim of that script or whatever they did to remove the bloatware. They do keep Redmi Note 13 Pro+ which is the Get Apps, your Xiaomi app store, there, which is good. But I did like the stock photo app, however, I just managed to get the Google one, so that’s not really a problem at all.
And you will see Redmi Note 13 Pro+, so if you go in here, you swipe over to the left, you’re going to have some of the stuff in Chinese. But once you just remove and edit Redmi Note 13 Pro+, you can really tone down on that, and you will have yourself then a ROM that is basically bloat-free from any Chinese apps that just mean nothing to us outside of China and any text or stuff popping out there maybe a notification or something that comes through in Chinese say from the Meore app, but you can also control that.
Things like WhatsApp and all that are going to work; you just need to give it the permissions for auto start. The ROM, yes, is only in Chinese and English, so bear that in mind. If you want it to be in French, Spanish, or other languages, unfortunately, you’re out of luck until the global version is released.
Speaker Audio Quality
So, I’ve played some voice calls on it, and I’ve noticed that there are no issues with the call quality. It does seem to have active noise cancellation, and I appreciate that. I also like the haptics in this phone; it’s a nice little buzz. While it’s not super strong, it doesn’t feel like some half-failed attempt at haptic feedback. It’s a pleasant pulse that adds to the overall user experience.
Now, regarding the loudspeakers, there’s one at the bottom and another at the top. The volume is good; it’s loud, but the quality is not amazing. It’s alright; there’s not a lot of bass, and it lacks a bit in that department. However, considering the price point, I think it’s acceptable. Here is a sample of these loudspeakers at 100% volume. If you keep that refresh rate forced onto the 120Hz, which I do have.
Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus Firmware, DRM & Safety Net
Now Redmi Note 13 pro+ on 120Hz, and everything is running really smooth and fast, the animations look good, and there’s no lag in the settings menu or throughout the whole system. The performance is excellent, based on Android 12 with MIUI 4. I’ll show you a few things—there was this patch that came through, and, of course, I applied that. Whenever I review anything, I make sure to be on the latest patch for bug fixes, and the security patch level is September, which is very good. They’ve also optimized touch sensitivity for wet hands.
Camera 2 API support is full here for all the cameras, Not that you’ll be using the macro camera much; it’s only 2 megapixels, and the quality looks a bit washed out. I’ll provide some camera samples later in that segment of my review. The screen supports 90Hz, as indicated in our DRM info, with Widevine level one certification. Dolby Vision is present, but currently, with Netflix, it’s not showing Dolby Vision until Netflix updates that. However, you will get streaming of your video content in full HD at least, which is good. I also hope that Xiaomi adds a 90Hz option for the refresh rate.
As for the safety net status, even though this is a Chinese import phone, it has NFC, and it does pass the safety net status. So, you should be ready and good to go with that feature.
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ Storage Speeds and 3DMARK Stress Test
The Antutu 22 score for Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus which is impressive, reaching over 700,000 points. This is for version 10, and the scoring has changed a bit compared to Version 9, showing an improvement. In this test, the battery dropped by 4% during the 6.6 iterations, which is standard. However, the final results are excellent, indicating strong performance with no issues. The storage also showcases very good speeds, utilizing UFS 3.1, which is commendable for a device in this price range. Hopefully, when it’s released globally, the price will remain similar to what it is in China.
During a stress test, specifically the GFXBench’s Manhattan 3.1, which is demanding on graphics, the device maintained stability exceptionally well. It only dropped down 0.5%, indicating no significant throttling. The thermals on this device are noteworthy. The chip runs cool, and the cooling system employed by the device, specifically the shell, has done an excellent job. Consequently, there’s no overheating issue, with the temperature reaching only 36°C. This is a stark contrast to some of my other reviews where temperatures have gone up to 50°C internally, notably in the case of the Xiaomi 3T Pro, which has better performance but tends to get quite hot.
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ Battery life test and Charge time
Regarding battery runtime, I conducted a fixed looping benchmark, acknowledging it may be a bit unrealistic, but it’s a consistent method that allows for fair comparisons between different phones. Keeping the brightness fixed, Redmi Note 13 Pro+ ran for 9 hours and 34 minutes.
Realistically, you can expect about 8 hours of on-screen time with this phone, thanks to its substantial 5,000mAh battery. However, I’ve observed that the standby drain isn’t particularly great. Leaving it overnight results in a battery drop of about 6 or 7%, even with minimal activity.
In terms of charging time, they claim it takes 19 minutes. I always enable the supercharging or faster charging mode through the settings, even though it warns about generating a bit more heat. Still, it took 29 minutes to go from 7% to 100%.
I suspect something might have caused throttling, possibly the battery temperature, leading to a reduction in charging speed. Nonetheless, I’m not complaining about 30 minutes – it’s still very quick for a 5,000mAh battery. I’ve repeated this test, and consistently, I get results around this timeframe. The quick charging capability is certainly a notable feature.
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ Performance and Gaming test
Playing demanding games like Genshin Impact on Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus poses no problem for the Dimensity 7200 Ultra paired with 12GB of RAM. I haven’t encountered any slowdowns, major issues, or notable lags. While loading certain areas on the map, a common occurrence across various devices, including flagships, is the occasional stutter.
In these instances, you might experience a tiny frame dip for just a split second, and that’s about it. Overall, this chipset handles gaming smoothly, and as demonstrated by the 3D Mark results, it doesn’t heat up excessively. There’s a slight warmth around this area, but the frame doesn’t become uncomfortably hot, a notable contrast to what I observed with the 13T Pro.
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ Camera Test
The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus features a front-facing 16-megapixel camera capable of shooting in 1080p at 30 frames per second, with the option for 60 frames per second, but no 4K capability. It includes electronic image stabilization, and the footage appears smooth. The audio bit rate is a respectable 256 kilobits per second, avoiding the lower quality of 96 kilobits per second seen in some past devices.
Moving to the main camera, it boasts an impressive 200 megapixels with optical image stabilization. While it can shoot in 4K at 30 frames per second, there’s no option for 4K at 60 frames per second. The footage is remarkably steady, combining optical and electronic image stabilization effectively. Even while jogging, the stabilization is commendable, although there may be occasional jolts. The absence of a 4K at 60 frames per second option is a notable limitation.
For the ultra-wide footage, the device uses the same 8-megapixel camera seen in many previous models. Limited to 1080p at 30 frames per second, it employs electronic image stabilization, providing decent stability. However, the quality suffers when cropping in at the corners of the video. The device’s continued use of this particular camera, despite its limitations, raises questions about stock surplus.
In terms of photo samples, selfies generally look good with acceptable stitching, while rear camera photos tend to lean towards warmer tones in white balance. The 200-megapixel camera’s two-times digital zoom inexplicably produces warmer images. The photo of the cat displays impressive detail, while the 2-megapixel macro camera’s photo looks somewhat washed out. Selfies are satisfactory but exhibit a slight warmth in colors, and the stitching around subjects’ hair could be improved.
Surprisingly, the low-light performance for a mid-range phone is quite good, as evidenced by the provided photos. Taken around 1 p.m., the images turned out well even though the lighting conditions seemed darker. In very dark situations, the photos do exhibit noticeable noise.
My Final Thought on Redmi Note 13 Pro+
As seen in the provided samples, the main camera on the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus can capture decent photos, but the absence of 4K 60 video recording is a limitation, with only 4K 30 available. However, the inclusion of the ultra-wide and macro cameras is questionable. These sensors do not seem to contribute positively to the phone’s camera capabilities. A better choice might have been an improved ultra-wide sensor with autofocus, potentially eliminating the need for a dedicated macro camera, especially considering the underwhelming performance of the existing 2-megapixel sensor.
Despite the curved design, the screen is commendable, and the synthetic leather back adds to the overall positive build quality. The 5,000mAh battery is a strong point, although the claimed 19-minute charge time is not consistently achievable, even with the faster charging option enabled in the battery settings. This discrepancy in charge times could be influenced by ambient temperatures or other factors.
Unfortunately, 5G connectivity wasn’t achieved in the review, with the device staying on 4G and showing 4G+ indications. The data speeds on LTE band 20 were satisfactory but slightly lower than typical 4G speeds, so potential buyers should check the supported bands to ensure compatibility with their network.
UI performance is smooth, thanks to the debloated ROM provided by Giztop. However, it’s noted that without this modification, the ROM may come with several Chinese apps, potentially hindering the user experience for those outside of China. The phone is generally good, but the inclusion of the ultrawide and macro cameras, along with potential difficulties in accessing 5G, may be drawbacks for some users.
The Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus strikes a balance between strengths and limitations. While its main camera captures decent photos, the absence of 4K 60 video recording is a notable drawback. The inclusion of ultra-wide and macro cameras raises questions about their actual contribution. The phone impresses with a robust 5,000mAh battery, though achieving the claimed 19-minute charge time is inconsistent. Connectivity disappoints, lacking 5G access in the review. The device's commendable screen and build quality offset some drawbacks, making it a nuanced choice for potential buyers.
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Design9.5
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Display8.5
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Software8
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Performance8
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Battery Life8
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Camera7.5
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Speaker7
