Xiaomi's Redmi Note 13 Pro+ is the epitome of what a mid-ranger with the word 'Pro' in its name should be. An overqualified array of specs, more than competent camera line-up and a gorgeous little window to look at it all through. Don't let the middle-of-the-road battery turn you off before you get a look at the accompanying 120W charger spec. Just... don't be afraid to put your wallet out of its comfort zone.
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Design
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Performance
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Battery
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Camera
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Value
Xiaomi is a big hit in the Stuff offices, especially where the Redmi Note series is concerned. Xiaomi isn’t just a hit machine, though. Like that dodgy season of Community (you know the one we mean), there have been some duds in the past. But now it’s back and firing on all cylinders. At least, that’s the impression we got after spending some time with the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G.
Let’s first address the elephant in the room. The pinnacle of the Note series, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ has had a massive price jump. What once used to cost R11,000 for the best that the Note series had to offer in 2023, will now set you back R16,500. And honestly, it’s worth it — even more so if you get creative with where you purchase the device. From some places, it can be had for R4,000 less than Xiaomi’s official figure. Jus’ saying.
Slippery slopes
There’s no denying that Xiaomi’s assembled a decent-looking phone. While most mid-rangers in the category settle for the bare minimum, Xiaomi put in real effort to help the Note 13 Pro+ stand out from the rest of the crowd. Whether it’s the curved display — a first in the Note family — or simply the Moonlight White coating our review model turned up wearing, there’s something for everybody here. And we haven’t even got to the important bits yet.
Those curved edges aren’t only for show. Disagreeable as you might be toward the idea of a phone without ‘proper’ edges, the Note 13 Pro+ uses them to its advantage, offering a generally more comfortable fit in hand. Sure, those metal-looking rims and a generous coating of Corning Gorilla Glass (Victus) are doing a lot of heavy lifting to up that premium (if [very] slippery) feel, but we’re not condemning that. Team effort and all, you know?
Under that slathering of toughened glass is a gorgeous 6.67in AMOLED display that’s quite capable of hitting a silky-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and a brightness level touting a splendid 1,800 nits all weave together for a display that we found difficult to put down — day or night. That’s saying something.
Don’t expect anything special in the way of ports. Xiaomi has stuck with the basics, such as a USB-C charging hole, SIM slot, and a singular speaker vent adorne the phone’s bottom. Running along the right-hand side is the volume rocker and power button, while the top is home to the speaker’s better half and a lonely IR blaster. A 3.5mm audio jack is sadly absent from the Redmi Note series for the first time. RIP.
Dime-piece Dimensity
If you’re picking up the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ in South Africa, you’ll be “stuck” with the best of the lot, meaning 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Internationally it’s a different story so you’ll need to look in the creative spots if you’re after something a little less capable and lighter on the wallet.
No matter where you’re getting your device, it’ll come stock with MediaTek’s 4nm octa-core Dimensity 7200-Ultra SoC, including the Mali-G610 MC4 GPU. It’s no flagship chip, but that’s alright. We never once struggled to get the Note 13 Pro+ in the gaming mood, hitting a consistently smooth 120Hz after we’d enabled the feature in the settings.
Having already proved itself a capable gamer, you’d be right to think it’s great just about everywhere else. Multitasking? No problem. Jumping from app to app like an iPad kid looking for his next fix? Easy. The only real cause for concern is a slight tendency to get a little warm around the edges roughly an hour deep into a gaming session — 45 minutes under more duress. Bring on winter, we guess?
Don’t expect anything more intensive than a simple Android 13 affair with Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 skin thrown in to distract you from that fact. The company’s new and flashy HyperOS is absent, but we’re hoping that’s nothing more than an oversight that’ll be fixed by the time the Note 14 arrives. Right, Xioami? In the meantime, you’ll need to put up with a fair amount of bloatware and some settings fiddling to get it un-MIUI-fied.
Battery life was about as standard as it gets. There’s a 5,000mAh battery shoved in there, somewhere, and it’s about as consistent as you’d expect. Pretty damn consistent, then. Keep its tasks simple, and it’ll stretch to accommodate roughly a day-and-a-half’s worth of life. Squeeze in some gaming while you’re at work, and you’ll be lucky to have 10% at bedtime. More exciting is the 120W charger which is about as excellent as it sounds.
No gimmicks here
The Redmi Note 13 Pro+’s camera bump may not look particularly extraordinary, but the tech it’s packing in the three-sensor array definitely is. You’ve probably heard Xiaomi shouting about the 200MP main sensor from the rooftops, or you’ve got a bit deaf. Either way, it worked so well last time around, so why not now?
Xiaomi hasn’t put all of its eggs in one basket. That 200MP camera is one of three, with 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro sensors filling the gaps. ‘Round the other end is a perfectly capable (often more so) 16MP front-facer. If you were hoping for a depth sensor, you won’t find it here. That’s fine. There’s a whole 200MP sensor to mess around with to comfort you through the loss.
And comfort us it did. You’ll fare better with images in the daytime, providing clear and fairly detailed snaps — even without switching to the dedicated 200MP mode inside the phone’s camera app. Colours can occasionally appear washed out, with a hint of pink overshadowing the image. It’s not constant and felt like an almost random occurrence — seemingly depending on the light levels.
Those secondary cameras are about as average as you’d expect from a mid-ranger who has blown the budget on its main sensor. Still, we didn’t hate the variety. The 16MP front-facer on the other hand was the star of the non-200MP show, pulling some half-decent, Instagram-worthy selfies out of the bag, even if the AI-touting software beautified our faces a little too much for our liking.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5g verdict
Xiaomi’s taken a rather big bet by setting the launch price as high as it has. R16,500 is certainly a lot to stomach, especially when it doesn’t have what the top billing companies like Samsung or Apple can bring to the table. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the price — it is — with that excellent camera set-up, gorgeous displays and fashionable coating. But we can’t in good faith have you spending R4,000 more than is necessary. The creative avenues aren’t that hard to find.
