Redmi Note 13 5G Review: A Budget-Friendly 5G Powerhouse
Discover Redmi Note 13 5G: sleek design, 108MP camera, 120Hz AMOLED, 5000mAh battery, and 33W fast charging at a budget-friendly price.
Xiaomi is known for releasing a lot of mid-priced smartphones and latest is Redmi Note 13 5G. With so many models, it’s easy for them to feel similar. So, what’s different about Redmi Note 13 5G?
Not much, honestly. But for phone under £300, innovation isn’t the main focus. What matters is balance and reliability and Redmi Note 13 5G does well in those areas. There are still some familiar issues and one area where it has regressed, but overall, it’s a solid and dependable choice for price.
Table of Contents
Redmi Note 13 5G Specification
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| 📡 Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G |
| 📱 Body | Size: 161.1 x 75 x 7.6 mm Weight: 174.5g Build: Gorilla Glass 5 (front), plastic frame/back SIM: Hybrid Dual SIM IP Rating: IP54 (dust & splash resistant) |
| 🔆 Display | Type: AMOLED, 120Hz Size: 6.67 inches Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels Protection: Gorilla Glass 5 |
| ⚙️ Platform | OS: Android 13 Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 6080 CPU: Octa-core GPU: Mali-G57 MC2 |
| 💾 Memory | Card Slot: microSDXC (uses SIM slot) Internal: 128GB/6GB, 256GB/8GB, 512GB/12GB RAM |
| 📷 Main Camera | Triple: 108 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP Video: 1080p@30fps |
| 🤳 Selfie Camera | Single: 16 MP Video: 1080p@30fps |
| 🔊 Sound | Loudspeaker: Yes 3.5mm Jack: Yes |
| 📶 Comms | Wi-Fi: Dual-band Bluetooth: 5.3 NFC: Yes (region-dependent) USB: USB Type-C 2.0 |
| 🔋 Battery | Type: 5000 mAh Charging: 33W wired |
| 🎨 Misc | Colors: Black, White, Teal, Gold |
Design, build quality, handling
Redmi Note 13 5G has a typical mid-range design with flat panels and a flat frame. It has a Gorilla Glass 5 front, a plastic back and a plastic matte-finished frame. Phone is IP54-rated for dust and splash resistance, an improvement from IP53, meaning it now protects against pressurized water sprays.
Phone comes in Graphite Black, Arctic White and Ocean Teal, with a regional Prism Gold version. Black and Teal models have matte finishes while White one has a subtle frost texture. 5G model is the same size as the 4G but 14 grams lighter with a rectangular camera housing.
It features 6.67-inch AMOLED display with thin bezels and a punch-hole for 16MP selfie camera. There’s no stereo speaker system or under-display fingerprint scanner but the sensor is on the Power/Lock button and works well. Back has a large camera housing with raised plastic rings for the primary and ultrawide cameras while depth sensor and flash sit flush.
Display
Redmi Note 13 5G features 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with 1080p resolution (395 ppi). It supports 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 1,920Hz PWM dimming. Some versions like those in Spain include a 10-bit color depth panel. Screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 and can reach up to 1,000 nits of brightness. In manual mode, brightness can go up to 488 nits but in Auto mode or with Sunlight Boost, it reaches up to 991 nits. However, ambient light sensor can be slow to adjust in bright conditions.
Refresh Rate
Display supports up to 120Hz refresh rate with two modes: Custom (choose between 120Hz or 60Hz) and Default (automatic switching). Refresh rate drops to 60Hz for static content and streaming apps. Some apps like Camera and Google Maps are capped at 60Hz.
HDR Video
Unfortunately, Redmi Note 13 5G does not support HDR video. However, you can stream content in 1080p resolution thanks to Widevine L1 DRM support.
Battery Life
Phone has 5,000mAh battery, similar to other models in Note 13 series but efficiency is bit disappointing. It offers 9 hours and 49 minutes of active use including about 9 hours for web browsing, 10 hours for videos and less than 6 hours for gaming. It can last over 34 hours on calls.
Charging Speed
Redmi Note 13 5G supports 33W fast charging. Included adapter can charge the battery up to 29% in 15 minutes, 50% in 30 minutes and 100% in 76 minutes. There’s also a “Charging Boost” option in the battery settings which slightly increases charging speed when the screen is off.
Speaker
Phone has single bottom-firing speaker with Dolby Atmos support. It has 200% loudness boost option but it focuses too much on high-frequency sounds, leading to average overall sound quality.
Software: MIUI 14 on Android 13
Redmi Note 13 5G runs MIUI 14 which is based on Android 13. While MIUI 14 is quite similar to its previous version, it’s still fast, responsive, and highly customizable. Xiaomi plans to update all Redmi Note 13 models to HyperOS in the future. There’s no confirmed update schedule but it’s likely to follow the same pattern as Poco X6, with three years of major Android updates and an extra year of security patches.
Performance: MediaTek Dimensity 6080
Powered by MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chipset, Redmi Note 13 offers decent mid-range performance. Chipset is an updated version of the Dimensity 810, featuring an octa-core CPU with two high-performance Cortex-A76 cores and six power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores. It’s paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, though it uses slower UFS 2.2 storage. The Mali-G57 MC2 GPU provides decent but not exceptional, graphics performance.
Thermal Management
Redmi Note 13 handles heat well. It doesn’t suffer from major thermal throttling, maintaining solid performance over extended use without heating up uncomfortably.
Connectivity
Phone supports dual SIM 5G connectivity with a hybrid SIM tray that lets you use either a second SIM card or a microSD card. Additional features include dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC and IR blaster. It lacks e-SIM and FM radio support and its USB-C port is limited to USB 2.0 speeds.
Camera: 108MP Main Sensor
Redmi Note 13 is equipped with a 108MP Samsung HM6 main sensor, supported by 8MP ultrawide camera and a 2MP depth sensor. Main camera offers solid photo quality but there’s no OIS (optical image stabilization). For selfies there’s a 16MP front camera.
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Pros and Cons Redmi Note 13 5G
| ✅Pros | ❌Cons |
|---|---|
| 🌧️ Durable, water-resistant design | 🚫 No HDR video support |
| 🌟 Bright 120Hz OLED display | 🔊 No stereo speakers, weak sound |
| ⚡ Fast charging | 🐢 No under-display fingerprint reader |
| 💪 Good overall performance | ⏳ Slow sensors for light and proximity |
| 📸 Great main and selfie cameras | 🔋 Battery life could be better |
| ✅ | 🎥 Video limited to 1080p, no stabilization |
Conclusion
We had a good experience with Redmi Note 13 5G overall. It’s a solid phone for its price with a nice design, smooth performance and reliable cameras.
However, Xiaomi made some compromises. There’s no stereo speakers, no HDR support and video recording is limited to 1080p. Battery life didn’t fully impress us either.
It feels like Xiaomi might have outdone itself as their Poco X6 offers a better overall experience for a similar price. While Redmi Note 13 isn’t bad, it’s not best deal in its range.
