Redmi 13 Review: The 5G budget beauty gets bigger and better

In 2023, Xiaomi pretty much changed our expectations of a budget 5G smartphone with the excellent Redmi 12 5G. Now, the brand has released its successor, the Redmi 13 5G. It takes all that made the Redmi 12 5G a star and adds a bit more to the formula. But does it do enough to justify a slightly higher starting price?

Redmi 13 5G design: Sticking to a classy, glassy formula

The Redmi 12 5G surprised us by delivering a surprisingly classy and premium design with a rock-solid spec sheet for its price segment, and Xiaomi has stuck to the same formula with its successor. You get a similar flat back and straight sides and two large camera lenses on the back with a flash to their right. Like its predecessor, the Redmi 13 5G can be mistaken for a far more expensive smartphone, with its glass back (a rarity in this segment). Xiaomi calls the design “Crystal Glass” and says that it is inspired by precious gemstones. This is not so apparent in the slightly more plain-looking Black Diamond and Orchid Pink variants but becomes very visible in the Hawaiian Blue variant, which looks like a very plain greenish-blue from a distance but has glittering, shiny silver patterns when viewed from close. It is quietly classy without looking loud.

In terms of size and proportion, the Redmi 13 5G is almost exactly like the Redmi 12 5G – a large 168.6 mm tall phone, reasonably slim at 8.3 mm and a little on the heavy side at close to 200 grams. It comes with IP53 certification for splash resistance and Gorilla Glass 3 on the front. It is a big, beautiful phone that will be right at home alongside phones that cost twice as much in design terms. Some might find it a little too large, but we do not think that’s a deal breaker in this segment.

Redmi 13 5G specs: Bumping up those basic specs

The Redmi 13 5G comes with a spec sheet that’s a clear step ahead of the Redmi 12 5G. While it, too, comes with a 6.79-inch FHD+ LCD display, its refresh rate has been increased to 120 Hz from 90 Hz. The processor powering phone also has been gently bumped up from the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 on the Redmi 12 5G to a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 AE variant. The minimum RAM has been bumped up to 6 GB from 4GB on the Redmi 12 5G, and storage is 128 GB on both variants, with an option to expand it to 1 TB using a memory card, although there is no 256 GB storage variant, as on the Redmi 12 5G. While the battery capacity has been marginally increased to 5030 mAh from 5000 mAh on the Redmi 12 5G, the charging speed has been given a significant boost – going up to 33W from 18W and getting into the relatively fast charging zone.

The phone also gets a way more megapixel-y 108-megapixel main sensor as compared to the 50-megapixel one on its predecessor, although it is still accompanied by a 2-megapixel camera on the back (macro this time, unlike the depth one on the 12 5G). The selfie camera gets more megapixels, too – 13 as compared to 8! The Redmi 13 5G runs on Xiaomi’s HyperOS out of the box (the first Redmi phone in India to do so) on top of Android 14 and comes with assured Android updates for two years and security updates for four years – a rarity at its price. Rounding off the specs are a 3.5 mm audio jack, a fingerprint scanner on the power/display button, a single speaker, and an infrared blaster, letting you use the phone as a remote control.

Redmi 13 5G performance: Camera and battery stars shine in a consistent constellation

The Redmi 13 5G is generally a smooth performer. The large display is bright and colorful for its price (some might have expected AMOLED, though) and is good for viewing content and videos, with the single speaker delivering quite a loud sound (for better quality, use wired headphones with that headphone jack). We were also able to sail through the routine day-to-day tasks like Web browsing, social networking, emails, and messages without any trouble, often being able to run 4-5 apps at the same time, without any trouble.

The phone can also handle casual games easily and can even play the likes of Call of Duty and Asphalt at lowered graphics settings, although lags and frame drops can creep in from time to time. HyperOS works very smoothly on the phone, although it does come with a bit of bloatware (all too common in most phones at this price, alas). The side-mounted fingerprint sensor does a good job, and the call quality on the phone is very good.

The 108-megapixel main sensor delivers some very good photographs, especially in good light, and turns in a reasonable performance even in low light conditions. Details were very good in daylight, and although the colors seemed a little too bright at times, the images captured were generally pleasant. Colors remained bright even in low light, although details take a hit.

You also get adequate portrait snaps, and video is good enough for social media in decent light conditions. The macro camera is of no use whatsoever, but the selfie camera is a significant upgrade over the rather basic one on the Redmi 12 5G and delivers good selfies and even selfie portraits, remarkably without any of the exaggerated skin smoothing that is so common in the segment.

Thanks to the 5030 mAh battery, the Redmi 13 5G lasts close to a day and a half of normal use. The presence of the 33W charger means that you can get about half of its battery charged in about half an hour and get it charged fully in 70-75 minutes. That is almost half the time it took to fully charge the Redmi 12 5G, and is very impressive for the segment.

Redmi 13 5G Pricing: Higher than the base Redmi 12 5G, but still so affordable

The Redmi 13 5G is available in the following RAM and storage combinations at these prices:

• 6 GB/ 128 GB: Rs 13,999
• 8 GB/ 128 GB: Rs 15,499

This makes the Redmi 13 5G more expensive than the Redmi 12 5G, which started at Rs 11,999, although, to be fair, the 6 GB/ 128 GB variant of that device also started at Rs 13,499. This higher starting price puts the Redmi 13 5G up against much tougher competition than the Redmi 12 5G. It faces the likes of the Motorola G64, which comes with a smaller display but with a 50-megapixel sensor with OIS and a 6000 mAh battery with 33W charging at Rs 14,999, and the iQOO Z9x, which has a 6.72-inch display and brings a larger 6000 mAh battery with 44W charging at Rs 12,999, although its Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip is ancient in comparison (if still capable).

If you are the type that likes a different-looking phone, the CMF Phone 1 from Nothing brings a very innovative back-swapping design with an AMOLED display and a clean interface at a price of Rs 15,999. Ironically, if you are on a tight budget, then the Redmi 12 5G still remains a very good phone to invest in. The Redmi 13 5G remains very good value for money, but unlike the Redmi 12 5G, it is in a slightly more crowded space.

Redmi 13 Review Verdict: Still THE budget 5G smartphone to go for

It might face more competition than its predecessor did, but the Redmi 13 5G is one of the best 5G phones you can get for its price. Some might grumble about the absence of an AMOLED display, and some others might have expected OIS on the camera, but the fact is that the Redmi 13 5G ticks all the basic mid-segment 5G smartphone boxes thoroughly – consistently smooth performance, a large display, a very good camera and a battery that goes on and on, all of this inside a design that remains surprisingly premium. Spending a little more might get you a camera with OIS, a slightly faster processor or a bigger battery, and in some cases, even an AMOLED display, but if you are looking at very consistent performance for around Rs 13,000 – Rs 14,000 with no real flaws, then the Redmi 13 5G rules. Xiaomi has just upgraded a winner.

Buy Redmi 13 5G